Odaily Planet Daily reports: On Thursday, South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) stated that it has begun preparing to build a tracking system to tax cryptocurrency investment gains, in line with the government’s expansionary fiscal policy and increased revenue needs. This comes as the South Korean government plans to impose taxes on virtual asset profits starting in January next year.
The National Tax Service has published a tender announcement on the Public Procurement Service e-Tendering Platform, aiming to build a comprehensive system for analyzing virtual asset transactions and implementing corresponding taxation, with a project budget of 3 billion Korean won (approximately $20.2 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 pilot operations set to begin in November and official launch expected between November and December.
The National Tax Service stated that the system is expected to be used starting in 2027 to collect individual virtual asset transaction data, enhancing its ability to detect tax evasion through systematic management and analysis of large volumes of transaction data. The National Tax Service plans to use AI and machine learning to analyze and track unusual transaction types and patterns, and will share virtual asset analysis data and lists of suspected violators with agencies such as the Korea Customs Service, the Statistics Korea, and the Bank of Korea.
Starting next January, income from virtual assets exceeding 2.5 million KRW will be subject to a comprehensive tax rate of 22%, comprising 20% income tax and 2% local tax.