South Korean city to seize crypto from thousands of tax evaders: Report

The South Korean metropolis of Cheongju, the capital of North Chungcheong province, has stated it intends to start confiscating cryptocurrency from native tax delinquents.

The administration of Cheongju has requested seven South Korean crypto exchanges to inquire into holdings of 1000’s of tax evaders, the native information company Yonhap reported on Aug. 22.

Metropolis authorities reportedly ordered buying and selling platforms like Upbit and Bithumb to inquire into crypto property of 8,520 customers who owe at the least 1 million gained ($750) in native taxes. Following the inquiry, Cheongju authorities plan to confiscate cryptocurrency from tax delinquents, the report notes.

In response to town administration, cryptocurrencies have been more and more used as a method of concealing property in South Korea. This newest initiative strategy goals to make sure that South Korean residents who’ve evaded their tax tasks are held accountable.

Upbit and Bithumb didn’t instantly reply to Cointelegraph’s request for remark.

In 2022, Cheongju administration reportedly managed to gather overdue taxes from 17 people after receiving particulars of their cryptocurrency holdings from round 16,000 crypto buyers. Town collected a complete of 68 million gained ($51,000).

Tax-related cryptocurrency confiscations have elevated in South Korea lately. In 2022 and 2021 mixed, the South Korean authorities confiscated as much as 260 billion Korean won ($180 million) price of cryptocurrencies from tax evaders. In 2021, town administration of South Korea’s capital Seoul seized crypto worth 25 billion won ($22 million) from people and firm heads.

Associated: Coin Center responds to US lawmakers’ request for crypto tax guidance

The seizures got here quickly after the South Korean authorities in 2021 enacted laws allowing regulators to grab cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) from tax delinquents.

South Korea isn’t the one nation that seizes cryptocurrency from tax evaders. Final 12 months, Argentina’s tax authority seized more than 1,000 cryptocurrency wallets linked to delinquent taxpayers within the nation. The US Inner Income Company additionally practices cryptocurrency confiscations crypto from tax evaders, in line with IRS deputy affiliate chief counsel Robert Sporting.

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