가상자산소득 신설과 기타소득 유형 과세의 적정성에 대한 연구

[Purpose] Investment size of cryptocurrency is rapidly expanding recently. Therefore damages of investors continuously occur due to anonymity, funding, and the risk of money laundering, which are the characteristics of cryptocurrency trading. However legal and institutional maintenance to minimize damages of the trading through the prevention of trading risk or the control of speculation is insufficient. This study aims to present problems in the taxation enforcement, taxation structure of virtual asset income and improvement direction. [Methodology] This study examines the legal nature of Korean and several major countries’ cryptocurrency and trading, each country’s position, and the current status and structure of taxation through theoretical literature. Based on this, this study raised some taxation issues and presented alternatives in taxation enforcement by newly establishing virtual asset income and classifying it as other income type. [Findings] Most of the foreign countries examined in this study did not designate virtual currency as legal currency but included it in the scope of financial products and taxed the gains from the transfer or disposal of virtual currency as capital gains or business income. Meanwhile, South Korea does not recognize virtual assets as financial products, and the government’s position on virtual assets is negative. Nevertheless, virtual currency transaction gains were newly established as virtual asset income, and at the same time, taxation will be enforced from 2022. However, under the current Income Tax Act, the taxation system for virtual asset income is deemed to have taxation issues such as ambiguity in the classification of virtual asset income, insufficient grounds for excluding the scope of financial investment income from virtual asset income, and unfairness in the burden of virtual asset income tax. [Implications] This study analyzes it is desirable to recognize virtual assets as the scope of financial assets under the taxation policy in line with the international trend such as recognition of cryptocurrency as a financial product and permission of its payment means for goods and services. This study judges that it will be a more rational measure to tax by classifying the virtual asset income having the nature of capital profit as a financial investment income, instead of other income.