South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Evasion & Dodgers

South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Evasion & Dodgers

South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Evasion

South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Dodgers: Not all countries have welcomed cryptocurrency with open arms – including Korea. Many countries are worried about tax fraud and evasion. In the US, there have several recent arrests, including the alleged leader of Bitcoin Fog. Recently, the Government of Korea confiscated cryptocurrency from upwards of 12,000 people who were on the list of purported income tax evaders. Specifically, South Korea has seized upwards of $50 Million of Cryptocurrency from 12,000 people who the Korean government believe may have committed tax fraud.

As provided by Regulation Asia:

      • “Investigators had to compare tax evaders’ mobile phone numbers against those registered at crypto exchanges in order to track down their account details.

      • South Korean officials have seized over KRW 53 billion (USD 47 million) worth of cryptocurrency from 12,000 people accused of tax evasion following a months-long probe, the FT reports.

      • According to officials from the Gyeonggi provincial government, which oversees the greater Seoul area, local crypto exchanges were allegedly being used to conceal assets because they did not collect resident registration numbers of account holders.

      • In order to track down the account details of individuals with unpaid back taxes, investigators had to compare their mobile phone numbers against those registered at crypto exchanges.

      • The confiscation – the largest cryptocurrency seizure for back taxes in Korean history – followed a broader probe into tax owed by about 140,000 people.

      • “We will do our utmost to protect law-abiding taxpayers and fulfil our fair taxation mandate by probing and tracing assets that tax dodgers may be concealing in the midst of the recent cryptocurrency trading fervour,” said Kim Ji-ye, director-general of the Gyeonggi Province Fairness Bureau.

      • Officials said insolvency and liquidation proceedings of the assets will follow if tax evaders did not voluntarily pay their overdue taxes.

      • The FSC (Financial Services Commission) has set a September deadline for South Korean crypto exchanges to partner with local banks to verify that only real-name accounts were being opened for customers.

      • Meanwhile the government is drawing up plans to impose an income tax on cryptocurrency trading.”

Are You Out of Compliance?

FBAR Amnesty Program: When a U.S. Person is out-of-compliance for unreported foreign accounts and assets, it can be unnerving feeling. The internet is littered with fear-mongering and scare mongering websites making you believe you are going to jail forever if you are out of compliance.

Foreign Account Amnesty is a shorthand way to describe the several IRS programs taxpayers may use in order to reduce, minimize or avoid the change of being hit with FBAR Violation Penalties.

Let’s review the FBAR Amnesty Programs: 

Some of the more common programs, include:

  • Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP or New OVDP)
  • Streamlined Offshore Procedures
  • Streamlined Domestic Program
  • Streamlined Foreign Program
  • Delinquent International Information Return Program
  • Delinquent FBAR Program

About Our International Tax Law Firm

Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in IRS offshore and domestic voluntary disclosure and tax amnesty.

Contact our firm for assistance.