India crypto tax filings lag trading activity: Report
India’s tax department has found major gaps in crypto tax reporting. Government data reportedly shows fewer than a quarter of 645,000 people who made crypto transactions in the year to March 2023 declared them on tax returns. The department also estimated around 39 million crypto traders in India held more than $2.1 billion in crypto by the end of May, with offshore exchanges, private wallets and P2P trades making activity harder to trace. The findings shift India’s crypto debate from only financial-stability concerns to tax enforcement and recoverable revenue. They also come shortly after the RBI urged lawmakers to keep banks and financial institutions insulated from crypto and stablecoins, and said prohibition remains an option. The issue is not unique to India. In Israel, a voluntary disclosure program for hidden crypto gains reportedly fell well short of targets, with low participation blamed partly on the lack of anonymous disclosure.
