South Korea's Paju City Collects 100 Million Won in Local Tax Arrears by Seizing Virtual Assets

The South Korean city of Paju has collected 100 million won ($72,000) in unpaid local taxes by seizing the virtual assets of taxpayers. Seizure of virtual assets is an aggressive tax collection measure targeting people who have the ability to pay but hide their virtual assets in order to deliberately default.

According to the city, 64 people who owed more than 1 million won in taxes were examined to see if they had accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges, and it was found that the 64 people had assets worth 280 million won (about $200,000) in their accounts. The total amount they owed amounted to 650 million won (about $460,000). The city confiscated their virtual assets and collected the outstanding amount by disposing of 100 million won of them, and plans to collect the remaining 180 million won through sale or collection.