South Korea’s Jeju City targets crypto holdings of alleged tax dodgers

Tax officials successful Jeju City, the superior of the South Korean land state of Jeju, person reportedly started the process of freezing and seizing the crypto of those it believes to beryllium dodging taxation requirements. 

The determination is portion of a broader cognition that saw authorities analyse 2,962 individuals who are successful arrears for a combined full of 19.7 cardinal won ($14.2 million), to corroborate if they had crypto holdings which could beryllium seized to settee the outstanding equilibrium owed, according to a study connected Saturday by section media outlet Newsis.

During the investigation, taxation officials combed done information from large South Korean crypto exchanges Bithumb, Dunamu’s Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit — uncovering 49 of the alleged taxation dodgers had combined crypto holdings valued astatine implicit 230 cardinal won ($166,269).

Jeju City’s Tax Division has designated the exchanges’ third-party debtors to commencement seizing and securing the coins to assistance wage immoderate of the indebtedness owed by the alleged taxation evaders. 

Jeju is South Korea’s largest land and a tourer hotspot with a past of crypto initiatives. Source: J. Patrick Fischer

Tax Division utilized AI to analyse crypto transaction data

Jeju is South Korea’s largest land and a tourer hotspot. It has a past with crypto initiatives, including launching non-fungible token tourist cards and a blockchain-based COVID-19 interaction tracing app successful 2021. 

Jeju City Tax Division Chief, Hwang Tae-hoon, said the metropolis volition “continue to fortify our effect to taxation delinquency utilizing caller assets specified arsenic virtual assets to thoroughly uncover hidden taxation sources,” according to Newsis.

He added that the Tax Division volition besides proceed to “collect high-value taxation delinquents done AI-based accusation analysis, striving to unafraid important taxation gross and foster a civilization of honorable taxation payment.”

Crypto speech users successful South Korea person surpassed 16 million, oregon much than 30% of the country’s population, who flocked to the crypto marketplace aft it saw a boost from US President Donald Trump’s predetermination triumph successful November.

Crypto of alleged delinquents connected the chopping block 

The South Korean authorities enacted laws allowing regulators to prehend cryptocurrencies similar Bitcoin (BTC) from taxation delinquents successful 2021.

Related: Australian tribunal ruling could pb to $640M successful Bitcoin taxation refunds

Authorities successful the South Korean metropolis of Paju, northeast of the superior Seoul, announced plans to prehend and merchantability the crypto holdings of citizens with unpaid taxes successful November past year.

Meanwhile, successful 2022 and 2021 combined, the South Korean authorities confiscated arsenic overmuch arsenic 260 cardinal Korean won ($180 million) worthy of cryptocurrencies from taxation evaders.

In 2021, the metropolis medication of Seoul, besides seized crypto worthy 25 cardinal won ($22 million) from individuals and institution heads who were allegedly taxation delinquents. 

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