DeFi, staking in tax blind spot as South Korea preps new crypto rules

South Korea's National Tax Service (NTS) has yet to establish clear tax standards for various types of cryptocurrency income, including from DeFi, staking, and lending, ahead of the country's new virtual asset tax regime set to launch next January, The Herald Business reported. The issue came to light in a written response from the NTS submitted today to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Song Eon-seog. In the document, the NTS acknowledged a lack of clear guidelines for taxing income from staking, lending, airdrops, hard forks, and NFTs. When asked about its standards, scope, and methods for calculating acquisition costs for these income types, the agency stated it is still collecting information on international legislative examples and expert opinions. Furthermore, the report highlights difficulties in taxing profits earned on overseas exchanges located in jurisdictions outside the 56 nations participating in the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). This has raised concerns about tax fairness and potential capital flight.