As Bitcoin Breaks Records, Domestic Virtual Asset Investors Grow Dissatisfied with Coin Taxation Set to Take Effect on January 1, 2025

According to the National Assembly's electronic petition on the 22nd, the petition titled "A petition on the request for a suspension of coin taxation on January 1

Coin taxation, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, is facing growing opposition from domestic virtual asset investors.

According to the National Assembly's electronic petition on the 22nd, the petition titled "A petition on the request for a suspension of coin taxation on January 1, 2025" exceeded 60,000 consent on the 21st, two days after it was posted. As of 9:30 a.m. that day, the number of consent reached 64,748.

The petition requirement of 50,000 has already been reached within a day of posting. If the National Assembly's petition reaches 50,000 consent within a month, it will be referred to the relevant standing committee and will be subject to deliberation, followed by the National Assembly plenary session.

The background of the petition is the opposition party's opposition to the suspension of coin taxation. The Democratic Party of Korea accepted the abolition of the financial investment income tax (financial investment tax) at a tax subcommittee meeting held on the 19th, but reflected the atmosphere that it could not accept the suspension of virtual asset taxation.

In fact, if the suspension of taxation fails, investors in virtual assets will have to pay 22% (including local taxes) if they earn more than 2.5 million won (basic deduction) from January 1, 2025. From the ants' point of view, the sudden fall came amid the coin fire after Trump's election as the U.S. presidential election.

A, who identified himself as a young man in his 20s, said in a petition, "When the gold investment tax was recently abolished, I thought it was only a matter of time before coin taxation was suspended," and pointed out, "Taxing only one side of the investment when it is the same investment can create equity issues."

"Political positions on taxation have changed rapidly since the Bitcoin rise began," he said. "If we change our position on the tax law policy easily, it will be difficult for the public to believe in it."

The industry also seems to be premature. In an uncertain regulatory situation where the business rights law is not in place, if taxation proceeds first, it will inevitably lead to investor confusion. It is also raising concerns that this will soon lead to a contraction in the market.

An official from a large domestic exchange said, "The fact that the atmosphere was initially focused on the postponement in the tax law revision but was opposed to the postponement in the year-end rally will inevitably cause investor opposition," adding, "We are concerned that the sentiment will be dampened from the standpoint of the exchange."

"With the second phase of the Virtual Asset Act not yet released, it is difficult to calculate the acquisition value of the tax infrastructure," he said. "Investors will be able to accept it if they establish related systems and taxation systems well and proceed with taxation."

The ruling and opposition parties continue to face off over related issues.

On the 21st, Minjoo Party Chairman Jin Sung-joon criticized Han Dong-hoon, the People's Power, for taxing virtual asset investment income, saying, "Don't distort or exaggerate the taxable issue of high-value investors of 1.3 percent or more."

"It is irresponsible to suspend the virtual asset investment income tax, which has already been suspended twice for no special reason, but it is a bad thing to lie about 'fighting 8 million investors,'" Cheong Wa Dae Chairman Chung said on Facebook.

This is a rebuttal to Han's Facebook post on the previous day regarding the issue, saying, "(The Democratic Party) is not fighting the power of the people or the government, but fighting with 8 million investors and young people."