The Korean government is preparing legal rules to levy capital gains tax incryptocurrency. New legislation should come into force in 2020.
According to the Korean Times, the Ministry of Economics and Finance has confirmed its intention to introduce new rules next year.
The revised bill will be prepared in the first half of next year, – said an official from the Ministry of Economy.
The new bill aims to increasetransparency of transactions with cryptocurrencies. Upon its adoption, Korean residents will be required to disclose information about cryptocurrency transactions. In addition, cryptocurrency exchanges will store the personal data of each user.
Currently, most of the cryptocurrency exchangesalready apply the KYC procedure. Korean traders also link their trading accounts to bank accounts, so they typically trade directly against the Korean Won, the country's national currency.
It is expected that the implementation of the new rules maynegatively impact the market for cryptocurrencies, which are supposed to exist independently of each other without government control. However, the sale of digital assets generates a fixed profit and therefore must be taxed. Note that the idea of collecting transaction-related data and information about cryptocurrencies is seen as government mechanisms in an attempt to control cryptocurrencies.
Now Korea can join a number of countries that already monitor and tax crypto transactions and trade, such as the US and others.