taxes

South Korean investors are once again pushing to delay the cryptocurrency capital gains tax scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2027, but regulators insist on proceeding as planned. According to the South Korean National Assembly's electronic petition system, a petition requesting a two-year delay of the crypto tax plan has garnered 50,000 valid signatures, reaching the legislative review threshold, and will be automatically submitted for consideration by the relevant standing committee.South Korea plans to impose a 22% tax (including a 20% basic tax rate and a 2% local tax) on the portion of annual income from digital assets exceeding 2.5 million Korean won (approximately $1,856), covering income from the sale, transfer, and lending of cryptocurrency assets. This tax has been postponed three times since it was first discussed in 2022. Petitioners argue that the majority of crypto investors are suffering significant losses, with major South Korean crypto companies experiencing a decline in operating profits of up to 90%. Implementing the tax at this time would kick young people's wealth ladder away and could push investors toward offshore platforms.In May of this year, a petition calling for the abolition of the crypto tax reached the 50,000 signature threshold within eight days of submission but did not advance further. Meanwhile, the government's stance remains firm, with the nominee for the Minister of Economy and Finance, Lee Heung-ik (phonetic), stating last weekend that the crypto tax plan is proceeding as scheduled, and the National Tax Service will announce detailed tax standards later this year.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Swedish Tax Agency has issued tax reassessments and fines totaling approximately $56.5 million (around 540 million Swedish Krona) to six cryptocurrency mining companies in Boden, accusing them of disguising their mining operations through complex corporate structures and illegally obtaining tax benefits for data centers.This enforcement action stems from a comprehensive industry audit covering 2024 to 2026, with a total of nine mining companies nationwide being pursued for over $50 million in taxes, with the six companies in Boden accounting for the vast majority. Among them, Bikupan Datacenter, a subsidiary of Hive Digital, has initiated financial restructuring due to its inability to pay taxes and has appealed the tax ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court. A previous investigation by the public broadcaster SVT Norrbotten revealed that cryptocurrency mining companies have caused the Swedish government to lose approximately $100 million in tax revenue.

According to Bloomberg, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has launched the issuance of U.S. investment-grade bonds, just two weeks after the company announced its acquisition of the bond electronic trading platform MarketAxess for approximately $6 billion.Insiders revealed that ICE's bond issuance plan is divided into up to five parts, with maturities ranging from 3 to 10 years. The preliminary pricing guidance for the longest maturity bonds is about 1.15 percentage points above U.S. Treasury yields. ICE previously announced that it would acquire MarketAxess Holdings for approximately $6 billion to further expand its presence in the fixed income trading market. MarketAxess is one of the world's leading electronic bond trading platforms, primarily serving institutional investors and providing trading services for fixed income products such as corporate bonds and government bonds.This acquisition is seen as an important move by ICE to strengthen the infrastructure of the bond market. ICE currently owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), futures exchanges, clearinghouses, and data services, while MarketAxess's electronic bond trading network will help ICE further expand its ecosystem for trading fixed income assets.Market participants indicate that as bond trading gradually becomes electronic, traditional exchange operators are competing for institutional investment market share by acquiring trading platforms and data companies. This financing also reflects the trend of large financial infrastructure companies supporting strategic mergers and acquisitions through the debt market.

The State Taxation Administration of China responded to the recent discussions on taxing insurance income in Hong Kong, stating that Chinese tax residents are required to fulfill their tax obligations on global income according to the law, and that overseas insurance income also falls within the scope of taxable income. This is not a new policy and is not specifically aimed at the Hong Kong insurance market. The tax authority indicated that residents must declare and pay taxes on overseas insurance income and other investment income in accordance with the law, and the relevant rules treat overseas income from different countries and regions equally.Yesterday, Caixin reported that with the normalization of CRS information exchange, Chinese tax authorities can now fully obtain data on dividends and cash value from overseas insurance policies, gradually filling the gaps in tax administration. Currently, the taxation of insurance income from overseas sources has been initiated.

According to CoinDesk, major lobbying organizations in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry jointly sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, urging the advancement of the "Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act," advocating for tax treatment options for cryptocurrency miners and staking income recipients. The bill was introduced by Republican Congressman Mike Carey, and its core content allows taxpayers to choose the timing of taxation when they receive new mining or staking assets—either paying taxes at the time the assets are generated or deferring taxes until the final sale.Industry associations, including the Blockchain Association, Digital Chamber, and Crypto Council for Innovation, have expressed support, arguing that the current tax system may force users participating in network security maintenance to bear tax burdens before they have realized the assets. Supporters claim that the proposal does not provide "indefinite deferral," but rather avoids immediate taxation on income that has not yet realized liquidity, thereby alleviating cash flow pressure on miners and validators.However, Democratic lawmakers and some external critics are concerned that this mechanism could be exploited by large mining companies for long-term tax deferral, especially in the context of some publicly listed or politically connected companies participating in mining operations, raising potential policy arbitrage disputes. Meanwhile, the industry's focus remains on the broader "Digital Asset Market Structure Act" (Clarity Act), but tax issues have become the second key battleground, expected to continue advancing in tandem with regulatory framework legislation in the coming weeks.

According to the South Korean media outlet "Seoul Economy," a nationwide petition calling for the cancellation of cryptocurrency taxes has been included in the agenda for discussion in the National Assembly. The "Petition to Cancel Virtual Asset Tax," published on the National Assembly's electronic petition platform, garnered support from over 50,000 people in just eight days, meeting the criteria for submission to the permanent committee for review. The petition will be handed over to the Finance and Economy Committee, which oversees the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service, for examination, after which it will be decided whether to submit it for consideration by the plenary session. Petitioners argue that "since the financial investment income tax on stocks has been abolished and tax reduction policies have been implemented, it is unreasonable to impose a separate tax solely on virtual currencies," adding that "the current system needs a comprehensive review, not just simple supplementation."

According to Cryptopolitan, the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag rejected a proposal by the Green Party to increase cryptocurrency taxes, which aimed to eliminate the tax exemption for selling cryptocurrencies held for more than a year. Currently, German law stipulates that profits from the sale of cryptocurrencies held for more than a year are exempt from capital gains tax. The Green Party believes this regulation is unreasonable and argues that crypto assets should be treated equally to other investments.However, critics point out that the proposal would impose a higher tax burden on crypto investors compared to regular stock investors. The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union in the ruling coalition believes the proposal does not close loopholes and may instead create new ones. The Social Democratic Party prefers to wait for the finance minister to present their own plan. The Green Party estimates that eliminating the tax exemption could generate approximately 11.4 billion euros in additional tax revenue each year.

According to market news, Moon Kyung-ho, head of the Income Tax Division of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea, stated at an emergency meeting on the taxation of virtual assets that the government will proceed with the taxation of virtual assets as originally planned starting January 1 next year. This is the first time the Ministry of Economy and Finance has publicly expressed its stance on the issue of virtual asset taxation.According to the current income tax law, income generated from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be classified as other income, with a tax rate of 22% applicable to virtual asset income exceeding 2.5 million won (20% other income tax plus 2% local income tax). The tax targets approximately 13.26 million investors. Head Moon revealed that the National Tax Service is formulating relevant announcements and has had multiple discussions with the five major virtual asset operators, expecting to conduct legislative announcements soon.

According to CoinDesk, Kraken stated that it has submitted 56 million cryptocurrency transaction tax forms to the IRS for the 2025 tax year, of which approximately 18.5 million correspond to amounts below $1, 74% are below $50, and only 8.5% exceed $600.Kraken pointed out that the lack of a minimum amount tax exemption rule for cryptocurrency payments, as well as the taxation of staking rewards as ordinary income at the time of receipt, is placing a heavy reporting burden on investors. Kraken is calling on the U.S. Congress to promote a broader minimum amount tax exemption policy linked to inflation and to allow taxpayers to choose to be taxed on staking rewards at the time of receipt or sale.

According to market news, the Federal Tax Service of Russia announced that cryptocurrency miners will pay approximately 567 million rubles (about 7 million USD) in taxes to the state in 2025, of which 84 million rubles will be personal income tax and 483 million rubles will be corporate income tax. This figure is far lower than the previously expected 6 billion rubles (about 74 million USD).Officials pointed out that factors leading to the reduction in tax revenue include: rising electricity prices in Russia, high global hash rate of the Bitcoin network, a declining dollar to ruble exchange rate, falling Bitcoin prices, and limited legalization of mining. Russia legalized mining through legislation in 2024, requiring legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to register with the tax authorities, but currently, more than two-thirds of mining companies have not yet registered.

Bitcoin treasury company Strive director Pierre Rochard stated that Dubai, El Salvador, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and Germany (after holding for one year) do not tax Bitcoin, and that the U.S. taxing Bitcoin is "unreasonable."Pierre Rochard described the relevant policies as a poor choice that undermines Trump's proposed "Bitcoin superpower" plan.

According to NL Times, the Dutch House of Representatives recently debated plans to amend the third category (Box 3) tax system.The proposal plans to tax capital gains (including realized and unrealized gains) on assets such as stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies annually starting in 2028. Although most lawmakers believe the proposal still has flaws and that taxing unrealized gains is not ideal, it is expected to gain majority support due to the estimated loss of about 2.3 billion euros to the treasury each year if implementation is delayed.

The "Plan ₿" project in Lugano, Switzerland has made significant progress, allowing residents to pay various municipal bills, including taxes, parking fines, and tuition fees, using Bitcoin (BTC) or Tether (USDT).Launched in 2022 in collaboration with Tether, the project aims to establish decentralized financial infrastructure. Currently, over 350 merchants in Lugano accept cryptocurrency payments, with transaction fees processed through the Bitcoin Lightning Network typically below 1%, far lower than the approximately 3% rate of traditional credit cards. To promote adoption, the city government provides merchants with smart POS terminal devices free of charge.Lugano has also established a circular economy system through the MyLugano app, where users can earn up to 10% cashback in LVGA tokens when spending cryptocurrency at participating stores. These tokens can be used to pay for municipal services, public parking, and childcare fees.The project has attracted over 110 crypto-related startups to the area, and the fourth Plan ₿ Forum, held in October 2025, attracted 4,000 participants from 64 countries, a 140% increase since the project's launch.

According to The Block, Congressman Max Miller (R-OH) and Steven Horsford (D-NV) are drafting a cryptocurrency tax bill called the Digital Asset PARITY Act.The bill will provide tax benefits for certain stablecoin transactions and delay taxation on rewards for validating blockchain transactions. The legislation will exempt capital gains tax on stablecoin transactions below $200. As a compromise between the IRS's current guidance and industry demands, taxpayers will have the option to defer taxes on staking and mining rewards for five years, after which they will be taxed as ordinary income at fair market value.The bill will extend wash sale rules (which prevent investors from selling at a loss and immediately repurchasing to claim tax credits) to digital assets and allow traders to use the mark-to-market method for accounting.

According to The Block, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves did not propose any new tax increases on cryptocurrencies in the latest autumn statement, maintaining the same tax treatment for crypto assets as for other asset classes.However, the government is pushing for stricter reporting and regulatory measures, including the upcoming Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) global tax transparency system set to be implemented in 2026. Industry professionals welcome the entrepreneurial support measures but warn that the overall tax and regulatory environment in the UK could undermine its global competitiveness in the fintech and digital asset sectors. Experts are concerned that a lack of sufficient incentives may lead high-growth fintech, AI, and Web3 companies to choose to develop in other jurisdictions, further exacerbating the talent drain recently observed in the UK.

ChainCatcher news, according to Crypto In America, the U.S. Treasury is preparing to formally relax a proposed rule. This rule was originally intended to impose a 15% tax on unrealized Bitcoin gains held by companies like Strategy under the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) legislation.The CAMT legislation requires large companies to pay a minimum tax on their financial statement income. Under current accounting standards, companies must value their held cryptocurrencies at market value, which means that even without selling, their book profits (unrealized gains) will be taxed.Previously, companies like Strategy and Coinbase had written to the Treasury, arguing that taxing unrealized gains on digital assets is unfair and would force U.S. companies to sell assets to pay taxes, putting them at a disadvantage in global competition.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Giggle Academy founded by CZ (Changpeng Zhao) raised over $1 million within 9 hours of opening public donations.GiggleFund responded that most of the funds came from the 5% transaction tax generated by a $20 million trading volume of the $GIGGLE token.

ChainCatcher news, according to News 1, the South Korean exchange Coinone sold virtual assets worth approximately 4.356 billion won (about 3.09 million USD) to Upbit and Korbit between the 8th and 31st of last month.Benefiting from the price increase, Coinone realized an additional profit of about 220 million won. This sale aligns with the "Roadmap for Corporate Participation in the Virtual Asset Market" announced by the Financial Services Commission of South Korea in February this year, allowing non-profit organizations and exchanges to liquidate virtual assets for personnel costs and tax expenditures.Coinone stated that the related funds will also be used to cover other operating costs.

ChainCatcher News: U.S. President Trump stated on social media that he will take strong measures against countries implementing digital taxes, digital services legislation, or digital market regulations. He accused these policies of aiming to harm or discriminate against American tech companies while giving special treatment to large Chinese tech firms.Trump warned that if these discriminatory policies are not revoked, he will impose additional tariffs on exports from the relevant countries and restrict the export of American technology and chips. He emphasized that American tech companies are no longer the "piggy bank" or "doormat" of the world, calling on countries to respect the U.S. and its tech enterprises, or face consequences. (Jinshi)

ChainCatcher news, Bitinning founder Kashif Raza posted on the X platform that the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes has begun discussions with cryptocurrency exchanges in India and has requested responses regarding issues related to digital assets.