Thailand's government wants to regulate the nascent Crypto market, and tax its investors to prevent the expanding sector from being used for money laundering, tax evasion, and other criminal activities.
This action is taken by Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong after a weekly cabinet meeting on Mar. 27.
With the new law regulating Cryptocurrencies and tokens, investors will have to pay 7% VAT on all transactions made with digit currencies and a 15% on the return profit.
Earlier, the Central Bank of Thailand has banned domestic banks from investing in and trading digit currency, which caused insecurity for local investors.
Korn Chatikavanij - former Finance Minister and president of the Thai Fintech Association (TFA) - shared that he is not surprised by the cautious steps taken by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank. "But they have to be cautious not to allow their conservative instincts to result in draconian regulations," Korn told the Nikkei Asian Review.
Companies operating in the field of Cryptocurrency in Thailand are also facing many challenges, and Thai entrepreneurs that tend to have an ICO are more likely to choose Singapore to register their startups.
Six.network, a decentralized financial services infrastructure of a Thai-Korean joint venture, is one example. The company is registered in Singapore and recently announced an ICO in Bangkok to raise $ 44 million on March 27.
Natasha Pungcharoenpong, co-founder of Six.network, said that his company is cooperating with the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)to avoid any glitches.
"The company has already approached the office to constantly clarify the operation to ensure transparency”, he told attendees at the ICO launch event at a Bangkok.
However, everything is still in the plan. In the meantime, Thai investors should be prepared by means before this regulation plan is officially adopted.
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