South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have asked the government to clarify taxation rules before virtual-asset income taxation is scheduled to begin on Jan. They said trading methods are becoming more diverse and complex and that they need time to establish and test systems for submitting tax data.
The request came during an Oct. 20 meeting hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. He said effective implementation would require both tax infrastructure and a market regulatory framework.
Exchange representatives also called for consideration of policies in other countries and for fair treatment between users of domestic and overseas platforms. The concerns come after South Korea delayed the tax three times, with the current start date set for 2027.
A separate bill proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu would move the start date to Jan. 1 of the second year after the first international exchange of crypto-asset transaction information under the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. Because that exchange is expected in 2027, the proposal would place taxation in 2029.
The proposal argues that tax infrastructure and access to overseas transaction data may be insufficient before the framework is operating. It also says taxation could fall more heavily on domestic-exchange users and that a digital-asset framework law should be established before taxation begins. South Korea has joined other jurisdictions in supporting the framework, which standardizes crypto-asset reporting for automatic exchanges between tax authorities and has a 2027 implementation target.