Leading South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has filed a complaint against Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) in a bid to nullify the $69 million tax bill it was hit with.
According to local news outlet The Korea Times, Bithumb sees the tax bill as “groundless” and filed the complaint against the NTS with the country’s Tax Tribunal after paying the $69 million- An anonymous Bithumb official was quoted as saying:
We paid the full amount and have since been preparing for arguments. We believe we will be given a chance to clarify our stance in court.
The NTS hit the cryptocurrency exchange with the near $70 million tax bill as it concluded Bithumb failed to withhold the taxes of its foreign customers’ income, an obligation it supposedly had. The NTS categorized Bithumb’s cryptocurrency trading of foreigners as miscellaneous income and recognized capital gains as “assets” for the bill.
Choi Hwoa-in, an advisor to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s financial regulator, argued bitcoin isn’t an asset under the country’s current laws and, as such, the NTs cannot levy the tax bill. Choi added the NTS’ tax imposition is “baseless and groundless, especially since it still awaiting the ministry opinion on the same matter.”
Regarding Bithumb’s move to nullify the tax bill, Choi was quoted as saying:
Bithumb filing a suit after paying the full amount in that sense is a calculated move expecting partial to full return of the amount paid.
An NTS official noted he couldn’t comment on the situation, and the organization will wait for the Tax Tribunal’s decision. The Tax Tribunal has 90 days to determine whether to grant or dismiss the cryptocurrency exchange’s motion.
Featured image via Pixabay.
