South Korea is preparing to tax Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) use after the cryptocurrency’s trading volume skyrocketed and surpassed that of the country’s main stock exchange KOSDAQ — a Korean benchmark from the American NASDAQ, Bitcoin.com reports.
“The issue of how to best tax cryptocurrencies is being discussed, including the areas of capital gains tax, the VAT, and gift tax,” Han Seung-hee, Commissioner for the country’s National Tax Agency (NTA) told lawmakers this weekend.
According to Han, his department is currently discussing the VAT and capital gains tax issues with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The Commissioner pointed out that the use of Bitcoin could lead to gift tax evasion, therefore valuations methods need to be implemented with respect to the taxation of cryptocurrency gifts.
South Korea has been working on their regulatory framework for digital currencies. In August, a “Bitcoin Regulation Act” was submitted by lawmaker Park Yong-jin but no action has been taken on it.