Crypto taxation could deter investors, says Thai ruling party MP

Thailand’s Committee on Monetary Affairs, Finance, Financial Institutions and Financial Market conducted a virtual meeting to discuss various aspects of crypto taxation.

Ruling party member of parliament Watanya Wongopasi posted a summary of the discussion on her Facebook page and urged the Excise Department to do its due diligence before imposing any tax on the crypto trading market.

In the meeting, Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations, noted that a tax on stock trading and digital asset trading could decrease market liquidity by 40%. He also warned that heavy taxation would deter foreign and small investors from trading.

Yutthana Srisavat, CEO and founder of iTAX, proposed a corporate tax or a value-added tax instead of imposing a trading tax. He also made it clear that the decentralized nature of crypto makes it extremely difficult to gather buyer and seller information, making it near impossible to collect tax information.

The Thai Excise Department noted that the majority of its focus has been on taxing the stock market, and it has made little progress in terms of crypto trading taxation. However, the department assured that it is carefully studying the crypto market and that the taxes will be only imposed after careful consideration.

Chonladet Khemarattana, president of the Thai Fintech Association, advocated for a free market to compete with other nations. He urged the government to monitor the growth of the crypto ecosystem in the short term before moving on with tax implementation.

Related: Former Thai SEC chief lays out three critical issues with crypto taxations

Crypto taxation has become a hot topic in Thailand, especially after the government proposed a 15% tax on crypto gains. Several current and former executives have come out to warn against the proposal, including former Thai Securities and Exchange Commission executive Tipsuda Thavaramara. As Cointelegraph reported earlier, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the revenue department to offer clarification for investors and the public on crypto taxation soon.