- Officials in Paju reportedly notified 17 individuals on November 18 over unpaid taxes.
- Paju authorities have made it clear that they want to pursue tax evaders’ assets.
South Korean authorities in the city of Paju, in the province of Gyeonggi, have stated their intention to liquidate cryptocurrency assets owned by residents who have failed to pay their taxes.
Officials in Paju reportedly notified 17 individuals on November 18. That they owed 124 million Korean won (about $88,600) in unpaid taxes. This information was revealed by local media agency Yonhap News. If these taxpayers’ obligations are not paid by the end of November. The city has threatened to seize and sell their cryptocurrency holdings held on exchanges.
Tax Evaders Under Scrutiny
Paju authorities have made it clear that they want to pursue tax evaders’ assets and punish them accordingly. The measure, according to authorities, makes it quite obvious that people can’t utilize cryptocurrency as a means to conceal their wealth.
Moreover, Yonhap reported that a growing number of South Koreans are using cryptocurrency as a cover to avoid paying back their debts. Seizing cryptocurrency held by tax evaders is nothing new for the Paju tax officers. Authorities in Paju confiscated cryptocurrency belonging to tax evaders on July 29th, valued at 100 million won (about $72,000).
Authorities have said that the decision to confiscate cryptocurrency from exchanges is based on the fact that individuals are knowingly shifting their wealth into digital assets in order to avoid paying taxes, even if they are financially capable of doing so. People allegedly turned their money into cryptocurrency so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes.
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