Orbital

India’s crypto tax came into effect with the current financial year, and has further impacted a cryptocurrency market that was already reeling globally. Crypto exchange WazirX vice president Rajagopal Menon and crypto tax consultancy Catax founder Gaurav Mehta join host Akhil Arora to discuss the consequences of that. Menon tells us why the cryptocurrency sector is in a freefall since the start of the year — rising global inflation adding to worries over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and how India’s crypto tax has compounded those miseries. Mehta believes the conflicting definitions of crypto — is it asset or a currency? — are adding to the chaos. If it’s the latter, then the incoming 1 percent TDS (tax deducted at source) from July 1 is unnecessary, Mehta notes. Menon says exchanges are happy to comply with government’s desires to track transactions, but the TDS rate has been set at a very high value. This, he believes, will stifle innovation in the crypto industry. Tune into our crypto tax special epi