Reports in South Korea indicate that the country’s financial authorities are considering a cryptocurrency tax.
Responding to questioning by a member of South Korea’s Democratic Party, the country’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Hong Nam-ki, said that authorities have plans for a cryptocurrency tax.
"We are preparing taxation plans by reviewing cases of foreign taxation through a task force, composed of relevant [governmental departments] and private experts, for proper taxation on virtual currencies,” said Hong. “It is desirable to confirm the concrete taxation plan by taking a detailed look [at the market]."
As Hong’s comments imply, plans for a cryptocurrency tax are still in their early stages. Thus, it’s difficult to get an idea of what such a tax would actually look like.
Building a Cryptocurrency Tax - Not so Easy
The economy minister also implied that South Korean authorities would be looking at an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) ) tax. Determining what that would look like is even more difficult as Hong himself seemed unsure as to what form an ICO tax would take.
"It is necessary to take a careful approach [to ICOs] considering the market situation, international trends and customer protection problems," he said. "We will examine the direction ICOs take and the results of a survey by the Financial Supervisory Service and the gathering of expert opinions.”
Taxation of cryptocurrency has, ironically given Bitcoin ’s anarchistic origins, become a real possibility over the past few months.
Most recently, legislators in the US state of Ohio said that people could pay their taxes in Bitcoin.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, in the midst of the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish authorities have also said that they are going to implement a cryptocurrency tax by looking at capital gains on cryptocurrency holdings.
A survey undertaken by regulators in Madrid found 15,000 individuals, holding cryptocurrency in Spain, that the government plans to tax in the near future.
