가상화폐(Virtual Currency)의 세법상 분류와 과세 -비트코인(Bitcoin) 사례를 중심으로-

his article studied about transactions with virtual currencies, like a bitcoin, and virtual currencies themselves. Korean Tax authority has no idea to classify and treat virtual currencies in Tax law. It focused on this problem of virtual currencies in Tax law. It consists of three major parts. (1) It gives the overview of a virtual currency and a transaction with virtual currencies. (2) It considers that a virtual currency would be a legal tender or not. If not a legal tender, what kind of property is a virtual currency? It suggests to make an resolution to this question. (3) It proposes to need a tax administrative system to register an official virtual currency account for tax purposes. First, Virtual Currencies would be classified with three types. Type 1 is “no exchange”, Type 2 is “one way exchange”(a real money to a virtual currency, and no vice versa). But Type 3 is “interactive exchange”(a real money to a virtual currency, and vice versa). This paper focuses on the Type 3 virtual currency, like a Bitcoin. Therefore it explains major contents and the structure of the Bitcoin Scheme. Second, It suggests to give an plausible answer or a feasible resolution to whether a virtual currency be treated as a legal tender or not. A legal tender has originally two features : one is an economic function, and another is the legal status designated by countries. A virtual currency does not have the latter, and so it can be a new kind of intellectual properties, instead of not being a legal tender. This chracterisation was based on the analysis of the United States, European Union, Germany, Canada, and the People Republic of China, etc. Third, assuming some transactional relationship between a Company and a person, or between a self-employer and a person, the tax authority may need parties related to a transaction with virtual currencies to register their own official virtual account for tax purpose and management. Because it has the asymmetric information relationship between the tax authority and taxpayers for tax purposes, and this unimbalance would be derived from the nature of the Type 3 Virtual Currency as a cryptocurrency that guarantees anonymity. This request is on the similar approach and logical basis that we look over, and manage to cash transactions. So if companies or self-employers use some virtual currency on their own business, it should make them to register virtual currency accounts for their business.