Koo Yoonchul: “Virtual Asset Taxation to Proceed as Scheduled Next Year... Improvements If Needed”

Koo Yoon-chul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is attending the plenary session of the Committee on Economy and Finance held at the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 29th, responding to members' inquiries. Ministry of Economy and Finance

The government has announced that taxation on virtual assets will proceed as scheduled starting next year.

Koo Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated at the full session of the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee on the 29th that “the government is pursuing the plan to levy taxes on virtual assets as originally scheduled from next year,” in response to lawmakers’ questions on whether the taxation should be postponed.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo commented, “Taxation on virtual assets is currently deferred until the end of this year,” and added, “Starting next year, we will implement the policy and make any necessary improvements as we go.”

Regarding suggestions that losses from virtual assets should be eligible for carryforward deduction, Deputy Prime Minister Koo replied, “Even in the case of stock investment, carryforward deductions are not permitted,” and said, “Since virtual asset gains are classified as ‘other income’ and there are benefits associated with this categorization, we will consider changes if necessary after taxation begins.”

Taxation on virtual assets refers to imposing taxes on income earned through investments in virtual assets such as coins. Under the current Income Tax Act, starting January 1 of next year, if income from virtual asset trading exceeds 2.5 million won per year, a tax rate of 20% (or 22% including local income tax) will be applied to the amount exceeding that threshold. For example, if one earns a capital gain of 5 million won from trading Bitcoin over a year, 2.5 million won is deducted as a basic exemption, and the remaining 2.5 million won is taxed at a rate of 22%, resulting in a tax payment of 550,000 won.

Taxation on virtual assets was confirmed with the passage of the amended Income Tax Act in December 2022. However, because the taxation system and related infrastructure have not been fully established, its implementation has been postponed three times—to 2023, 2025, and 2027.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.