Cheongju City, located in South Korea's central area, is considering confiscating virtual assets such as Bitcoin from tax evaders.According to a local news agency, the Cheongju administration has demanded that seven South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges investigate the holdings of thousands of tax evaders.These exchanges have been forced to produce a report on the crypto holdings …
Cheongju City, located in South Korea’s central area, is considering confiscating virtual assets such as Bitcoin from tax evaders.
According to a local news agency, the Cheongju administration has demanded that seven South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges investigate the holdings of thousands of tax evaders.
These exchanges have been forced to produce a report on the crypto holdings of approximately 8,250 people, each of whom owes over 1 million South Korean won ($747) in local taxes.
After finishing this operation, the Cheongju city authorities will analyze the gathered data before seizing and liquidating these assets in order to collect the outstanding taxes.
Because of the secrecy afforded by cryptocurrencies, these assets are sometimes referred to as a tool for tax avoidance.
The authorities of Cheongju City, once again, emphasized this notion, stating that cryptocurrencies are often used to conceal one’s income in South Korea, hence the rationale for this asset seizure initiative.
As a result, this would not be the first time such an occurrence occurred in a South Korean city. In 2022, Cheongju officials demanded a report on 16,000 people’s cryptocurrency holdings before seizing 68 million won ($51,000) from 17 investors.
The Asian nation’s tax officials seized 259.79 billion won ($194.15 million) for tax arrears between 2021 and 2022, according to the “Status of Seizure of Virtual Asset” report presented before the South Korean National Assembly in September 2022.
The value of assets taken in the province of Gyeonggi-do was the greatest at 53.04 billion won ($39.65 million), followed by the nation’s capital Seoul at 17.84 billion won ($23.24 million).
The national government launched a combined crypto crime team in July, consisting of 30 people from several institutions such as the National Tax Service, the Financial Supervisory Service, and others.
Furthermore, the country’s Financial Service Commission recently ruled that firms that issue cryptocurrency deals will be compelled to reveal their holdings in their financial accounts beginning in 2024, in order to promote transparency in the crypto field.
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