Tax Collection Could Become a Cause for Pakistan for Introducing Crypto Regulation
Advisory Board of Pakistan has published a document containing details suggesting that a large number of Pakistanis and dual nationality holders are owners in possession of billions of dollars worth of digital currencies. If crypto law is provided and tax is imposed thereon then billions of dollars can be raised as revenues by the Pakistani Government, suggests the Advisory Board’s document.
Crypto had paved its way into Pakistan a very long time ago, however, the Government did not notice. When the Pakistani Government started to take notice of crypto, it was only after 2019 and especially in 2020 when the crypto market was at its peak. Pakistani Government then started to recognize that billions of dollars have been invested by local and overseas Pakistanis into cryptocurrencies.
At presently, crypto hasn’t been granted any legal status in Pakistan nor had the Government officially banned them per se. However, it is widely believed that crypto is banned in Pakistan. But considering the amount of investment Pakistanis have invested into digital currencies, the Government is now interested in crypto. The interest is however not towards accepting cryptocurrencies as legal instruments. Instead, the Government is interested in revenue generation.
In this connection, Pakistan’s Advisory Board namely the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry has issued a report. In this report, the Advisory Board has noted that millions of Pakistanis have been investing in cryptocurrencies. Crypto investment for Pakistanis is not a new thing and in fact, they have been familiar with crypto from day one. In addition, billions of dollars have already been invested in cryptocurrencies by local and overseas Pakistanis. It has been advised in the report then if regulation is prepared for cryptocurrencies then it would be in the great benefit of the state.
What the report originally proposed is that tax laws should be introduced for cryptocurrencies. The law should be made applicable upon both, local and overseas Pakistanis holding any digital currencies/assets. It has been further advised in the report that by providing crypto tax laws, Pakistan can safeguard its economic interests as well. Simultaneously, the report further insists the Pakistani Government not ignore cryptocurrencies. In fact, adoption is recommended.