저자: MBCNEWS · 외국인
요약 보기
바이낸스에서 약 80억 달러 규모의 해킹 사고가 발생했다. 보도에 따르면 해커는 짧은 시간 안에 대규모 인출을 실행했고, 거래소가 스테이블코인 발행사에 동결을 요청했을 때는 이미 약 24억 달러가 이동한 뒤였다. 해커가 다른 플랫폼을 통해 차단이 어려운 코인으로 자금을 옮긴 것으로 전해졌다. 이 사건을 북한 소행으로 지목하는 시각이 나왔다고 보도가 전한다. 이와 함께 내년부터 시행될 예정이던 가상자산 소득 과세가 다시 쟁점이 됐다. 2020년 국회를 통과한 세법에 따라 연 소득에 대해 약 22%의 세금을 매기는 방안이며, 이미 세 차례 연기된 상태다. 최근 청와대가 시행 연기를 검토한다는 보도가 나오며 여당 내 논의도 활발해졌다. 과세 반대 측은 두 가지를 근거로 든다. 첫째, 국내 거래소 이용자만 세금을 내고 해외 거래소로 이탈하는 등 투자자 간 형평성 문제가 생긴다는 점이다. 둘째, 코인 발행사로부터 무상으로 받은 코인이나 블록체인 유지 참여 보상 등 과세 여부와 취득가액을 판단하기 어려운 거래가 많아 실무 준비가 부족하다는 점이다. 반면 찬성 측은 미국, 영국, 일본, 독일 등 약 40개국이 이미 과세 제도를 운영하고 있으며, 소득이 있는 곳에 세금이 있어야 한다는 원칙에 따라 기반을 먼저 마련하고 제도를 점차 보완해야 한다고 주장한다. 국내 가상자산 투자자는 약 1천만 명, 일일 거래대금은 5조 원을 넘는다. 보도는 예측 가능한 정책이 필요하다는 점을 강조하며 마무리된다.
다듬은 글
This segment, "The Economy in the News," is one I bring to you every Monday. Recently, crypto assets like Bitcoin have once again become a global concern. An $8 billion hacking incident has shaken the international crypto market, and in Korea, the policy of taxing crypto assets is back on the table. Joining me is economics reporter Lee Seong-il. Hello.
Hello. We reported on it earlier, but let's start with the hacking problem.
Yes, some are even calling it the biggest bank robbery in human history. This incident shows that the exchange's security technology and tracking speed could not keep up with the hackers. Binance confirmed the hack at 11:20 p.m. on the 29th. Unauthorized withdrawals took place, and it took just one minute for $6.3 billion to be siphoned off. The exchange formed a crisis response team to trace the flow of the stolen funds. It even asked the stablecoin issuer to freeze transactions, but by then the hackers had already moved about $2.4 billion. Before the freeze limit was reached, they succeeded in switching to other coins that were difficult to block through other platforms. North Korea has been named as the suspected culprit behind the hack targeting the world's largest exchange, and anxiety among crypto holders is growing.
Yes. This incident seems to have revealed that while crypto has gone mainstream, it remains an area that is hard to manage. Because the structure is so complicated, tax issues have also become controversial. Starting next year, Korea will require taxes on income from crypto assets under the law. For example, suppose you buy Bitcoin now and sell it after January 1 next year. If you sell when the price, which was about $80,000 (107 million won) last week, reaches $90,000 (120 million won), you would make a profit of about 13 million won. You would owe roughly 22% in tax, about 2.3 million won. However, if the price exceeds $80,000 as of December 31 this year, the tax could be somewhat reduced. These provisions were included in the tax law the government enacted in 2020, when the Democratic Party was in power, and passed the National Assembly. After three postponements, implementation is now approaching next year.
But last week, a report that the Blue House was considering postponing implementation changed the mood. As the party began seriously gathering opinions, the possibility of another delay has been raised.
Yes. So what is the logic of those who see implementing the tax as difficult?
Fairness among investors is now shaky. There is also a lack of practical preparation. These are the core arguments of those opposed to implementation. First, let's look at the fairness issue. Investors using domestic exchanges will have to gather data from the exchange, report it to the National Tax Service, and pay the tax. Exchanges will also provide this information to the tax service. It's similar to how capital gains tax is paid on overseas stock trading. However, in the crypto industry, there are many trading methods and types of exchanges, making it difficult to require such data in many cases. As a result, only users of domestic exchanges would end up paying the tax, and there are arguments that more investors will move to overseas exchanges to avoid it. The complexity unique to the crypto finance sector is also a headache. The method for calculating gains from crypto trading is itself similar to stock trading. But many transactions are hard to judge in terms of whether they are taxable or what the acquisition cost is, such as when coins are received free from issuers or when rewards are earned for participating in maintaining a blockchain. As revealed in this hacking incident, each coin has different characteristics and trading methods, so tracking is harder, and there is also the nature that the flow of transactions cannot be predicted. In short, taxing virtual currency is itself a difficult task. So how are other countries handling it?
That's right. Looking at the arguments from those in favor of maintaining the current approach, the fact that accurate taxation is difficult due to the characteristics you mentioned and the complex trading methods is not unique to us. Even so, many countries are taxing crypto. Although this data is from 2014, before crypto became mainstream, later data secured by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service showed that even at its peak, fewer than 7% of investors who had earned income reported it. Now, about 40 countries worldwide, including the UK, Japan, and Germany, already have tax systems in place. The United States chose to first build the foundation for taxation in 2014, when Bitcoin was at $600 (about 1 million won), and then expand the tax infrastructure in step with technological development. It is faithfully following the principle that where there is income, there should be tax.
Yes. With just over two months left before tax collection begins, judging by the current mood, it seems the plan is to postpone it again.
It does appear that way. If investors leave domestic exchanges, domestic exchanges will suffer. And there is a strong likelihood that the government will not collect as much tax as expected. It is these concerns that are driving the debate. On the other hand, some analysts say this is a fallout from postponing the financial investment income tax and abolishing taxation on stocks, which are comparable to crypto assets.
The crypto market currently has 10 million users, and daily trading volume exceeds 5 trillion won. Whatever conclusion is reached, it seems difficult for the government, which is reconsidering postponing a law passed six years ago just two months before implementation, the ruling party, which has neglected the discussion on halting implementation, and even the National Assembly to avoid responsibility.
Yes. Now that crypto trading has become somewhat part of everyday life, predictable policy seems absolutely necessary.
That's right.
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