가상화폐의 과세문제

Abstract

Recently, virtual currency has been used as a medium of exchange, and speculative fever has emerged among people while generating huge profits through the transactions. As a result, we were interested in taxation on the investment profit of virtual currency. In order to solve the taxation problem of virtual currency, the legal concept must be clearly defined. In some countries, virtual currencies are recognized as money or foreign currency, and in others, as property or goods. In Korea, there was a debate about how to tax virtual currency when there is a craze of virtual currency, but there is no taxation method yet. As a result, individuals are not taxed even if they earn money by investing in virtual currencies, and there is a debate about whether VAT is taxable when buying and selling virtual currencies. If it is impossible to tax the profits from virtual currency, the new concept of money in the fourth industrial revolution, the tax principle of ‘taxing where there is income’ is broken. However, since the taxation regulations for virtual currency are not prescribed by law, taxation is difficult within the current tax law system. Therefore, in order to tax after the general legal concept of virtual currency is prepared, a tax base is needed. First, the legal nature of the virtual currency may vary depending on how it is issued. Identifying virtual currencies as a certain legal nature can cause significant difficulties in resolving taxation issues surrounding virtual currencies. Therefore, it is effective to establish a tax relationship based on the legal nature of virtual currency. It is a fact that taxation depends on the legal nature of virtual currency. Where virtual currency is treated as an asset, it is taxable as income tax, corporate tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, and value added tax. However, if virtual currency is treated as currency for payment, it is not possible to tax as virtual currency. In addition, when owning or inheriting a virtual currency, there is a problem of how to evaluate the virtual currency and reflect it on income or property. In order to solve this problem, relevant regulations should be revised. On the other hand, transaction confirmation is important for taxation on trading or holding of virtual currency. However, virtual currency is one of the important advantages of anonymity, and technically, the transaction is performed by IP address. Therefore, it is difficult to capture and tax the transaction by linking the holder's IP address and real name. Therefore, as a way for tax authorities to capture virtual currency transactions, the legislative system to supervise the virtual currency exchanges should be improved.