Govt should come out with legislation on crypto soon: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi

cnbctv18.com:

Expressing concern over unregulated virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Friday said the government should come out with legislation soon to prevent their misuse for purposes such as terror financing and drug smuggling. The government is still sending mixed signals on virtual digital assets and there should be clarity on the definition of crypto, he said while initiating a debate on the Finance Bill in Lok Sabha.It is not clear if it is an asset, currency or something that can be speculated upon, he said.

Gogoi further said that the government should take a view on this so that virtual digital assets do not become a preferred route for money laundering, drug smuggling or crime."I expect the policy to come out sooner than later...crypto is a risk at the moment," he said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier moved the Finance Bill for 2022-23 for consideration.Also Read| Govt considering linking Aadhaar with electoral roll, online voting for Indians abroad: RijijuOn the stock market, Gogoi said there are a lot of unregulated commercials on the social media that are luring people to invest in shares.

It is another bubble waiting to burst, he said, adding that the government should take this also into account.Observing that every government wants to widen the tax base, he said high networth individuals (HNIs) are the biggest contributor to revenue mobilisation. There has been an exodus of 7,000 HNIs from India since 2019, he said.He wondered what is the ecosystem that the country is offering to wealth creators.