South Koreans Hold $99B of Digital Assets Overseas: Tax Service

The crypto held abroad accounts for about 70% of all assets held outside the country.

AccessTimeIconSep 20, 2023 at 1:18 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 21, 2023 at 3:33 p.m. UTC
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South Koreans hold a total of 131 trillion won ($99 billion) worth of virtual assets outside the country, the National Tax Service said in documents posted Wednesday.

That's 70% of all reported overseas assets, the tax service said. A total of 1,432 individuals and corporations reported that they held crypto accounts overseas. The country has a population of just under 52 million, according to World Bank data.

South Korea introduced a mandatory reporting requirement this year, Yonhap News reported. The tax law requires nationals to declare in June if they have more than 500 million won in accounts abroad, it said.

Countries around the world have been exploring ways to tax virtual assets. South Korea's planned taxes on crypto earnings are expected to come into place by 2025. The country also announced that it might start taxing airdrops.

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

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Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.


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