South Korea’s Government Levies Taxes On BTC Capital Gains In 2022

South Korea’s government levies taxes on BTC capital gains in 2022 so crypto investors will have to pay 20 percent taxes on profits from digital currencies as we can see more in our latest cryptocurrency news.

With cryptocurrencies picking up steam and bringing in features of regular asset classes, South Korea’s government levies taxes on capital gains from digital currency. The country is the latest in the row to adopt this initiative as its Ministry of Economy and Finance said it will levy taxes on crypto starting from 2022. The government is going ahead with the proposed tax on crypto returns after a few reconsiderations. The local news agency Yonhap reported that the National Assembly’s Planning and Financial Committee deliberated on the amendment of the income tax laws and the individual consumption tax laws.

Crypto traders and investors are mandated to pay 20 percent if they earn 2.5 million won from BTC and other cryptocurrencies. The gains below this point won’t be taxed. The law was scheduled to be implemented in October this year but it got postponed. According to the news reports, Bitcoin gains will be filed under “other income” and all investors will have to report their gains through an income statement and will have to pay taxes in May of each year. Back in 2017, the government of South Korea announced that it will regulate crypto transactions and shut down exchanges as well, especially in Seoul.

This is not the first attempt of the Korean government to bring in Bitcoin taxation. Korea’s National Tax Service asked crypto exchange Bithumb to pay its foreign customers withholding taxes to the tune of 80 million won back in 2019. These developments were uncertain and it was also unclear whether the crypto industry will become subject to withholding tax. The Bithumb exchange filed a complaint to the tax tribunal arguing that cryptocurrencies were not recognized by the country’s law and should not be taxable. The industry evolved since then as crypto assets are bridging the gap on conventional assets and the new laws are classifying them as taxable properties.

As previously reported, The Strategy and Finance committee of the South Korean National Assembly approved new amendments for the tax as well. Now, with the new amendments, South Korea delays 20% crypto trading tax until January 2022 according to the local news outlet Yonhap News Agency.