In 2023, India’s harsh crypto tax policies would remain intact. In fact, in unveiling the nation’s budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention crypto, virtual digital assets, blockchain, or central bank digital currency (digital rupee). Last year, the world’s largest democracy imposed steep taxes on cryptocurrency transactions, including a 30% profit tax and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all transactions. Industry predictions that the year would be a “period of suffering” ostensibly came true. Indians moved more than $3.8 billion in trading activity from local to overseas crypto exchanges in the nine months following the announcement, and interest in crypto fell precipitously.
