Over 131 trillion won (more than $98 billion) in cryptocurrency assets in foreign accounts have been reported by South Korean tax payers this year. The amount was disclosed by the nation's tax agency, and it follows the imposition of a required reporting requirement for financial assets kept abroad by the Seoul government.
Nearly 1,500 South Korean companies and individuals declare having cryptocurrency accounts abroad.
Due to a recently implemented legislation, South Koreans reported a total of 186.4 trillion won in overseas assets in 2023, setting a new record compared to the 64 trillion won recorded in the previous year, according to the National Tax Service (NTS), which was quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
For overseas accounts owned by South Korean companies, the United States was the top destination, followed by Japan and Britain. For individuals, Singapore and Hong Kong came in second and third, respectively, after the United States.
However, the tax authority noted that because it is significantly more challenging to trace the geographic location of digital assets held on crypto trading platforms, cryptocurrency holdings are not included in the split by country.
Regardless of the nature of their assets, South Korean citizens and legal entities with foreign financial accounts worth more than 500 million won (about $377,000) are required to report them to their home country's tax authorities in June. Failure to do so could result in a punishment of up to 20% of the unreported amount.
The government in Seoul has still been attempting to enhance its budget collections from its citizens' crypto in the interim, although delaying a 20% tax on crypto-related capital gains until 2025. Authorities said last October that they had seized cryptocurrency assets worth almost 260 billion won ($184 million at the time) over the course of two years owing to unpaid taxes.
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