Summary

  • The Tax Subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee will review seven amendments related to delaying or abolishing virtual-asset taxation.
  • Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties have proposed delaying the start of virtual-asset taxation by two to three years and allowing loss carryforwards for three to five years.
  • The government has also decided to pursue a plan to delay virtual-asset taxation by two years and allow loss carryforwards for three years.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

South Korea’s National Assembly is beginning its review of bills that would postpone the start of virtual-asset taxation or abolish the tax system altogether.

According to the industry on November 11, the Tax Subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee is scheduled to take up seven proposed amendments related to virtual-asset taxation at a 2 p.m. meeting that day. The main issues include the length of any delay and whether to introduce loss carryforwards.

Democratic Party lawmakers Park Min-kyu and Ahn Do-geol each proposed bills to delay implementation by two years. Ahn’s amendment also includes a provision allowing losses from virtual-asset investments to be carried forward for up to three years for deduction.

The People Power Party has proposed a range of options, from scrapping the tax entirely to delaying its implementation. Song Eon-seok submitted a bill to abolish virtual-asset taxation, while Jeong Seong-guk and Kim Jae-seop proposed a three-year delay. Kim Sang-hoon proposed a two-year postponement.

People Power Party lawmaker Choi Eun-seok’s amendment would delay taxation by two years, set the loss carryforward period at five years and raise the basic deduction limit. As a result, the discussion is set to cover not only the timing of implementation but also how investment losses are reflected in tax calculations.

The ruling and opposition parties, along with the government, currently share the view that virtual-asset taxation should be deferred rather than introduced immediately. After the ruling party asked the government to delay the tax, the government on November 5 decided to pursue a plan to postpone implementation by two years and allow loss carryforwards for three years.

Suehyeon Lee