South Korea deputy PM nominee backs crypto tax from January

South Korea’s deputy prime minister and finance minister nominee Lee Hyoung-il said virtual asset taxation should begin in January, adding in materials submitted to the National Assembly ahead of a confirmation hearing on Sept. 15 that detailed taxation standards are scheduled to be announced through a National Tax Service notice within the year. According to Edaily, Lee said taxing virtual assets would help improve fairness, noting that stocks are already subject to capital gains taxes in some cases, including major shareholders, overseas holdings and unlisted shares, as well as transaction taxes. Lee also said classifying virtual asset gains as miscellaneous income is appropriate to support comprehensive income taxation, ease tax compliance costs and apply taxpayer-friendly measures such as a basic deduction and a single tax rate. Separately, a National Assembly petition calling for a two-year delay to virtual asset, or digital asset, taxation recently drew more than 50,000 signatures and is set to be referred to a relevant standing committee.