Cheongju, South Korea opens virtual asset account to sell cryptocurrencies seized from tax-owers

PANews reported on September 20 that according to Yonhap News Agency, Cheongju City, South Korea, opened a virtual asset trading account in the name of local governments, allowing taxpayers who default on local taxes to directly sell virtual assets. Since 2021, the city has seized virtual assets of 203 taxpayers who have defaulted on local taxes through measures such as suspension of transactions, but tax revenue has been restricted due to the lack of monetization methods. To this end, the city has opened a virtual asset trading account in the name of local governments. If the taxpayer fails to pay the tax, the seized virtual assets will be transferred to the municipal government account and sold directly. However, due to the high fluctuation in the price of virtual assets, the city will advise taxpayers who default on taxes to sell their virtual assets to pay taxes and initiate a mandatory sale process if necessary. The virtual currency seized this time is targeted at 161 individuals, who arrears about 1.5 billion won of local taxes. "We will do our best to recover these assets and ensure that virtual assets are no longer a means of tax evasion," a city official said.