Thailand Eases Tax Rules on Digital Assets Until 2023

Thailand is relaxing tax rules for crypto trading until the end of 2023 in order to boost the industry, the country's finance minister said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Starting April 1, trades of digital assets on government-approved exchanges will be exempt from a 7% value-added-tax (VAT), said the minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, according to the meeting minutes posted on the government's website. Transfers involving Thailand's retail central bank digital currency will also be exempt from the VAT over the same time period, he said.

Traders will also be able to deduct losses from crypto trading from taxes due on gains, the minister said.

A draft decree of the new tax exemptions has been proposed under Thailand's Revenue Code, said Ekniti Nitithanpraphas, general director of the finance ministry's revenue department, according to the meeting minutes. The draft aims to increase the competitiveness of the industry and develop payment system infrastructure that is ready for the digital economy, he said.

In January, the government scrapped a proposed 15% tax on crypto gains following pushback from traders.

Crypto trading has been growing over the past year in the second-largest Southeast Asian economy, with the number of new crypto investors reportedly outpacing new stock market traders in September.