The South Korean government recently announced their intention to impose a tax on cryptocurrency, leading to backlash. Korean Yonsei University economist, Sung Tae-yoon, warned that the decision to tax crypto capital gains may slow the technology’s emerging market, according to Koreatimes on June 21. Sung said that taxing the crypto market while it is still in its infancy is a “premature” decision. He worries that tough regulations or taxation may prevent the crypto industry from flourishing in South Korea. He also believes: “Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered a universal asset like traditional paper currencies.” Reasons behind the act Opposition economists, such …

Multinational professional services firm Ernst & Young have released a crypto tax app called EY CryptoPrep. It’s a fully automated, web-based Software as a Service (SaaS) product to assist clients with U.S. tax filings. EY CryptoPrep takes data from numerous exchanges and major cryptocurrencies, automatically applies relevant tax rules and completes Form 8949. Clients can choose to use the program themselves or have it as part of a managed service. EY America’s Vice Chair of Tax Services Marna Ricker explained that the application was a direct response to growing interest in cryptocurrencies: "Our clients increasingly hold and trade crypto assets, …

There is only one month left until the United States tax season. After being extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official deadline to file tax returns is now July 15. If you think that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is all hung up on dealing with the COVID-19 stimulus package and will not carefully examine crypto reports — you had better think again. The IRS is taking steps to build cases against taxpayers who fail to report cryptocurrency, and after the new crypto tax guidance was published in October 2019, there are really no more excuses left to not …

The United States Tax Court has affirmed the IRS’ decision to deny a Maryland couple an installment plan. They state instead that the couple should liquidate their $7 million cryptocurrency holdings to pay off the tax debt. The couple failed to pay their 2017 tax return. As a result, they owe the IRS $1.1 million in unpaid taxes and penalties. In July 2018, they asked the IRS to allow them to pay the debt over a six-year installment plan, or IP. Along with the IP request, they enclosed a special form to prove that they are eligible for the proposed …

The South Korean Finance Minister, Hong Nam-Ki, announced plans to impose a tax on cryptocurrency, while speaking to the parliamentary finance committee on June 17. According to a report from local news outlet, Korea JoongAng Daily, the ministry will reveal further details of the plan next month. Hong told the committee that the government: “Has continued to realign its tax system to reflect changes in market conditions, but it is especially working to refine its list of taxable items and types of tax this year.” Previous crypto tax proposals As Cointelegraph reported, the ministry was considering a 20% tax on …

Tax day this year, like everything else, is different. The United States Internal Revenue Service has rescheduled it to July 15, but there’s little time left to get your records together and to file. Everyone knows the IRS is pushing hard to scrutinize crypto. A new IRS question appears at the top of Schedule 1 of your 2019 Form 1040 asking if you received, sold, sent, exchanged or otherwise acquired any financial interest in any virtual currency at any time during the year. As the IRS classifies crypto as property, any sale should produce a gain or a loss. Perhaps …

Finance Minister Taro Aso suggested he was unwilling to push for lowering the tax rate on cryptocurrencies in Japan to a flat 20% because it’s difficult for many households to invest in digital assets. Aso was responding to a question from Japan Restoration Association member Shun Otokita at a meeting of the House of Councillors Committee on Financial Affairs which convened on June 2. “Out of 1900 trillion yen [17.6 billion USD] financial assets held by households in Japan, around 900 trillion yen [8.4 billion USD] is now being held as cash deposits and that is abnormal," said Aso. Despite …

South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance is preparing an amendment to apply to the nation’s Income Tax Law. This could include rules for profitable sales of cryptocurrencies as well as profits from national crypto mining projects. According to local newspaper E Daily on May 27, the ministry also mentioned including the profits generated by initial coin offerings, or ICOs. This is tantamount to a change in the country’s rhetoric towards ICOs, which are still banned across the country. The report specifies that crypto-to-crypto transactions, such as Bitcoin (BTC), will be “likely” exempt from the proposed amendment and only seeks …

Many crypto holders are reporting their crypto transactions for the first time as a result of the United States Internal Revenue Service’s question about “virtual currency” on the 2019 tax return form. It is a big question for some taxpayers — many have not reported their crypto gains in the past or may have done so without a great deal of precision. Should a taxpayer let bygones be bygones or file an amended return to accurately reflect their historical income from crypto? The IRS subpoenas of crypto exchanges for taxpayers’ trading histories certainly raise the stakes. To layer more on, …

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly soliciting third-party contractors to assist with calculations of cryptocurrency users’ transactions. Crypto tax software firm CryptoTrader.Tax publicly shared details of a letter it claims to have received from the IRS on May 12, together with an accompanying Statement of Work. The latter has been uploaded to CryptoTrader’s blog, along with excerpts from the letter, which reportedly stated: “The Internal Revenue Service is engaging outside contractors to assist our Revenue Agents in calculating taxpayers’ gains or losses as a result of their transactions involving virtual currency. We are placing a few single-case …

A recent survey conducted by South Korean wallet provider Childly found that 66% of respondents are in favor of crypto assets being taxed. The poll of more than 5,750 crypto users worldwide revealed that only one-in-five crypto users are opposed to digital asset taxation. Crypto community warms to taxation 48% of respondents strongly agreed that cryptocurrencies should be taxed, describing digital asset taxes as “a must.” 18% of participants expressed support for crypto taxes, however, on the proviso they were set “at an acceptable level. 20% of polled crypto users disagree with taxing crypto assets at present, with 9% asserting …

Many investments these days seem volatile, but there are few asset classes that have been as volatile as crypto. If you have losses, you might have trouble claiming them, offsetting gains or reducing your income. In fact, asking if you have tax losses or even expecting some sounds like a silly question. How losses are treated under the tax law is an important and complex question. In general, our tax system requires you to treat each tax year separately. You tally up your income, deductions and other items, and you figure your tax bill for the tax year based on …