The Indonesian Futures Market Supervisory Board (Bappebti) has proposed a tax on all cryptocurrency transactions on regulated exchanges domestically.
The proposal is pending, as the tax rate has not yet been determined. However, later Bappebti intends to discuss this initiative with the tax authorities of Indonesia. The chairman of the Indonesian Association of Cryptocurrency Traders, Teguh Kurniawan, has already reacted to this information by recommending a rate of 0.05%. In his opinion, high taxes can push people to use illegal channels to purchase cryptocurrencies.
Today, Bappebti controls 13 cryptocurrency exchanges, among them the Zipmex exchange, which received a license to operate in Indonesia last year. Therefore, if the agency’s initiative is approved, new legislation will automatically apply to these exchanges, providing for a tax on transactions with cryptocurrencies.
Previously, Indonesia did not recognize digital assets as legal financial instruments. In 2014, the country’s government warned citizens against using cryptocurrencies. In 2017, the Central Bank of Indonesia stated that it did not consider Bitcoin as a means of payment, as a result, many local cryptocurrency exchanges were forced to close. A year later, Bappebti recognized cryptocurrencies as exchange commodities that can be traded in the Indonesian futures market. Thus, local traders have the opportunity to trade cryptoassets.
As a reminder, in 2019 Bappebti introduced updated rules for cryptocurrency trading in order to bring legal clarity and consumer protection. However, local industry players considered these requirements too high.
