Revenue Department Seeks to Change Tax Rules on Cryptocurrency

According to reports from the Thailand Revenue Department, the agency is in talks with digital asset exchanges to enable them to receive withholding taxes from cryptocurrency profits.

The move by the revenue department is allegedly designed to make trading more convenient for cryptocurrency traders. In cryptocurrency transactions, cryptocurrency buyers are obligated to collect 15% withholding tax from sellers’ profit.

In order to recoup the 15% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency profits, the revenue department is working on an organic law. According to Section 40 of the Royal Decree amending Revenue Code No.19, profits from cryptocurrency trading can be considered assessable income by the department.

In a statement, a revenue department spokesperson stated that only profitable transactions would be taken into account when calculating the tax.

As a result, sellers must keep records of all profitable transactions to identify those that require withholding tax.

It is also expected that the tax will cover Bitcoin mining transactions, as well as dividends and interest earned on cryptocurrency investments.

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Bitcoin mining is considered the same as mining ore, according to the spokesperson. Therefore, Bitcoin mining gains are considered income from commercial, agricultural, and industrial activities, which is taxable under Section 40(8).

Tax deductions are available to bitcoin miners for expenses incurred during mining, the spokesperson said.

Under Section 40 (4), dividends or interest received from investments in cryptocurrencies are taxable.

As part of the revenue department’s research into cryptocurrency trading taxes, a data analytics system was deployed.

As a result, if the department finds any irregularity regarding tax payment, it has the authority to summon the relevant parties, such as financial institutions or trading platforms, to provide information.

Many investors are still not aware of how the Revenue Department will calculate profits and losses from crypto trading, according to Sanjay Popli, co-founder of Cryptomind and owner of Merkle Capital.

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In his view, it is extremely difficult to track gains from cryptocurrency investments as most crypto traders take profits by selling the coins after only holding them for a short period of time.

It remains to be seen whether losses from crypto trading can be deducted from profits, said Mr Sanjay.

He said that it is also unclear whether gains from arbitrage trading, in which investors simultaneously buy and sell the same coin listed on different exchanges to take advantage of price differences in each, will be considered profits.

The chief executive of Zipmex Thailand, a digital asset exchange, says the department can collect taxes, but taxpayers should have clarity regarding the methodology for calculating profits so that they are taxed legally.