The Tax Administration of the Republic of Korea in the city of Pohang announced a plan to confiscate crypto assets from evaders with debts in the amount of 500,000 won (about $368).
Since all crypto wallets are legally linked to bank accounts with a "real name", verified social security number and mobile phone, officials were able to identify 5,208 crypto investors who did not pay taxes, but own cryptocurrency. The city authorities said they decided to "issue an ultimatum to violators and actively collect overdue taxes" by "confiscating and selling" digital assets belonging to these individuals.
"The value of virtual assets owned by local evaders has increased dramatically, and overdue debt to the city has reached more than $12 million. The authorities are investigating the activities of 5,200 citizens who, according to the tax authorities, are maliciously hiding from the tax service, but at the same time own digital assets on such exchanges as Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone," sources tell the Kyongbuk Maeil Shinmun daily newspaper in the tax office.
The Pohang City Tax Administration Office said the unprecedented move was part of a "Comprehensive Plan to Collect Local Tax Arrears for 2024", formed based on the results of the 2023 tax campaign. Officials claim that due to close attention to the activities of crypto investors in 2023, South Korean tax authorities managed to receive an additional amount of tax collections in the amount of about $29 million.
Earlier, the Department of Tax Justice of the South Korean province of Gyeonggi-do reported on the successful testing of a system for intelligent tracking of cryptocurrency transactions and identifying tax evaders. The new debt control system is based on end-to-end tracking of citizens registration data and identifying their probable connection with operations in the digital asset market.
Since all crypto wallets are legally linked to bank accounts with a "real name", verified social security number and mobile phone, officials were able to identify 5,208 crypto investors who did not pay taxes, but own cryptocurrency. The city authorities said they decided to "issue an ultimatum to violators and actively collect overdue taxes" by "confiscating and selling" digital assets belonging to these individuals.
"The value of virtual assets owned by local evaders has increased dramatically, and overdue debt to the city has reached more than $12 million. The authorities are investigating the activities of 5,200 citizens who, according to the tax authorities, are maliciously hiding from the tax service, but at the same time own digital assets on such exchanges as Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone," sources tell the Kyongbuk Maeil Shinmun daily newspaper in the tax office.
The Pohang City Tax Administration Office said the unprecedented move was part of a "Comprehensive Plan to Collect Local Tax Arrears for 2024", formed based on the results of the 2023 tax campaign. Officials claim that due to close attention to the activities of crypto investors in 2023, South Korean tax authorities managed to receive an additional amount of tax collections in the amount of about $29 million.
Earlier, the Department of Tax Justice of the South Korean province of Gyeonggi-do reported on the successful testing of a system for intelligent tracking of cryptocurrency transactions and identifying tax evaders. The new debt control system is based on end-to-end tracking of citizens registration data and identifying their probable connection with operations in the digital asset market.
