South Korean Government Announced to impose a 10-50% Gift Tax on Airdrops and Other Free Transferable Cryptocurrencies

The South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance on 22nd August, responded to a tax law interpretation inquiry on whether a transaction in which a virtual asset issuer provides a virtual asset of the same or a different kind to a member who owns a specific virtual asset is a transaction subject to the gift tax.

The free transfer of assets is a 'gift' under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act."

“In this case, a gift tax will be levied on the third party to whom the virtual asset is transferred free of charge,” he said.

According to the tax authorities, taxation on capital gains from virtual assets will begin in 2025, as announced earlier. But "Gift" tax will be implemented from the current FY.

This is because gift tax is comprehensively levied on all objects of economic value that can be converted into money

A person obligated to pay gift tax must file a gift tax return within 3 months from the end of the month in which the gift date belongs, and the tax is levied at a rate of 10-50%(depending upon a case-by-case basis).

CC: Yonhap News (In Korean)