South Korea postpones tax on crypto

South Korean regulators have delayed plans to tax virtual assets until 2023 amid pressure from the opposition.

The proposed tax would have levied a 20% tax on crypto gains made in a one-year period over USD 2,122 starting January 1, 2022. Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties are trying to appeal to voters in their 20s and 30s, who are more likely to be cryptocurrency investors and therefore against the proposed tax, ahead of the presidential election in March 2022, according to CoinDesk.

Crypto investors have compared the planned tax for cryptocurrency gains to the proposed levies on stocks. Stocks investors would only pay taxes for gains over USD 42,450, whereas crypto investors would have to start paying when they reach USD 2,122 in capital gains, making the tax appear unfair, as per KBA company officials. In addition, investors could carry over stock losses for five years but could not carry over crypto losses at all.