Taxing Crypto Trading Gains ‘Inevitable,’ Says South Korea Finance Minister: Report

South Korea Finance Minister Hong Nam-Ki has described the taxing of gains from crypto trading as “inevitable,” according to a published report.

• The minister was asked whether the tax would be delayed until the government has improved its oversight of the industry, according to Reuters.
• “It’s inevitable, we will need to impose taxes on gains from trading of virtual assets,” Hong said in a news conference.
• Crypto traders’ gains will be subject to 20% tax on profits over 2.5 million won (~$2,250).
• The tax was originally to be implemented in October 2021 but was pushed back to January 2022.
• South Korea is also requiring crypto exchanges to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to demonstrate the robustness of their anti-money laundering (AML) systems.
• However, the FSC chair Eun Song-soo said last week that none of the country’s estimated 200 exchanges have yet done so, meaning they risk all being shut down in September when the rules are set to be enforced.

See also: Young Koreans Turning to Crypto as Alternative for Creating Wealth