ChainThink News, on March 12, the National Tax Service (NTS) of South Korea announced on Thursday that it has commenced building a tracking system for cryptocurrency investment gains, a move aimed at supporting the government’s expansionary fiscal policy and increasing tax revenue. The initiative comes ahead of the government's planned introduction of taxation on virtual asset profits starting January next year.

According to the announcement, the NTS has launched a bidding process for the "Comprehensive Virtual Asset Transaction Analytics System" project, which was published on the e-procurement platform of the Government Procurement Agency responsible for public sector acquisitions, with a budget of 3 billion KRW (approximately USD 2.02 million).

Under the plan, the winning bidder will be selected and contracted within this month, with system design commencing in April. After multiple rounds of testing, the system is expected to enter trial operation by November, with full deployment anticipated before the end of the year.

The NTS stated that the system will begin collecting individual virtual asset transaction data from 2027 onward. By systematically managing and analyzing vast volumes of transaction data, the system aims to more effectively detect tax evasion, including identifying concealed income through tax audits.

Notably, the NTS plans to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to analyze and track anomalous transaction types and patterns. Additionally, relevant virtual asset analytics data and suspect lists will be shared with other government agencies, including the Korea Customs Service, Statistics Korea, and the Bank of Korea.

Under South Korean tax law, starting January next year, any annual virtual asset gains exceeding 2.5 million KRW will be subject to a comprehensive tax rate of 22% (comprising 20% income tax and 2% local income tax).