India’s income tax department has issued 100,000 tax notices to cryptocurrency investors, in the latest sign of a government crackdown on the use of the digital money.
“People who have made investments (in cryptocurrency) and have not declared income while filing taxes and have not paid tax on the profit earned by investing, we are sending them notices as we feel that it is all taxable,” Sushil Chandra, the head of India’s direct taxes department, was quoted as saying in a news release from an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India event Tuesday.
India has yet to issue guidelines on cryptocurrencies. The digital money isn’t recognized as legal tender in India, Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget announcement last week. The government has set up a committee to look at issues related to cryptocurrencies.
The Reserve Bank of India has warned against the financial, economic and security risks it says are associated with holding cryptocurrencies.
