ChainThink reports that on March 12, South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) announced it has begun developing a system to track cryptocurrency investment gains, in line with the government’s need to expand fiscal policy and increase revenue. This system development comes ahead of the government’s planned tax on virtual asset profits starting January next year.
According to the announcement, the National Tax Service has issued a tender for the construction of the "Comprehensive System for Virtual Asset Transaction Analysis," which was published by the Korea Government Procurement Service on its e-procurement platform, with a budget of 3 billion Korean won (approximately $2.02 million).
The winning bidder will be selected and contracted within this month; system design will commence in April, followed by multiple rounds of testing, with a trial launch scheduled for November and an official launch expected before the end of the year.
The National Tax Agency stated that the system will begin collecting individual virtual asset transaction data starting in 2027, systematically managing and analyzing vast amounts of transaction information to more effectively detect tax evasion, including identifying hidden income of delinquent taxpayers through tax audits.
Notably, the National Tax Service plans to introduce artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to analyze and track unusual transaction types and patterns. Additionally, relevant virtual asset analysis data and suspect lists will be shared with other government agencies, including the Korea Customs Service, the Statistics Korea, and the Bank of Korea.
Under Korean tax law, starting January next year, gains from virtual assets exceeding 25 million KRW annually will be subject to a 22% comprehensive tax rate (comprising 20% income tax and 2% local tax).