Oh Ki-hyeong, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who leads his party's side on the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee, arrives at a ruling party-government meeting held at the National Assembly members' office building in September to discuss investment negotiations with the United States. [Yonhap]
Oh Ki-hyeong, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who leads his party's side on the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee, arrives at a ruling party-government meeting held at the National Assembly members' office building in September to discuss investment negotiations with the United States. [Yonhap]

The ruling and opposition parties have reached a tentative agreement to pass legislation delaying the taxation of virtual asset income by two years.

Oh Ki-hyeong, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who leads his party's side on the National Assembly Finance and Economy Planning Committee, told reporters Wednesday after the committee's tax subcommittee session that "there was a shared understanding on delaying virtual asset taxation." Oh added that "some procedural matters are still being discussed," but said "the government said it would push the tax back by two years, and there were no significant objections from either side."

Bae Jun-yeong of the People Power Party, who leads the opposition's side on the committee, said the government must prepare responsibly given the additional delay. "We will closely monitor whether the government is making genuine efforts and how preparations are progressing, and guide the process together at the National Assembly level," Bae said.

The virtual asset income tax was originally set to take effect in January 2022. It was postponed once in 2023 over the need to build out tax infrastructure and establish investor protection systems, and has since been delayed twice more — first to 2025, then to 2027.

However, the income tax act amendment before the tax subcommittee — which would delay the virtual asset tax by two years — was not put to a vote Wednesday. The government raised objections to raising the basic deduction threshold for virtual asset taxation, and lawmakers continued to disagree over provisions including a rule requiring exchanges to submit transaction data starting next year.

Oh said the final vote would take place on the last day of the tax subcommittee's session. "For now, it is safe to say the tax has been pushed back by two years," Oh said.


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com