[아주경제 코이너스 브리핑] “If you buy a Tesla car with bitcoin, you may get a tax bomb”

◇”If you buy a Tesla car with bitcoin, you might get a tax bomb”

Analysis has been raised that US consumers can get a’tax bomb’ if they buy a Tesla car with bitcoin.

On the 25th (local time), the US economic media CNBC broadcast said, “Elon Musk Tesla’s chief executive officer (CEO) said that you can buy Tesla with bitcoin, but that could mean a bigger tax bill.”

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) classifies virtual currencies such as Bitcoin as assets, not legal currencies. Buying a car with bitcoin is subject to capital gains tax, meaning that it may cost more than cash payments.

Tesla ranges from $38,000 to $80,000 depending on the model. Currently, the price of bitcoin is over $50,000 each, and you can buy a Tesla car by spending 1 or 2 bitcoins.

The problem is that because U.S. tax authorities classify bitcoin as an asset with fluctuating prices, such as stocks, it could be a tax bomb depending on the time of purchase.

According to CNBC Broadcasting, the price of bitcoin a year ago was around $6700. So, if at that point the person who bought bitcoin would benefit from buying a $38,000 Tesla Model 3 at a price of more than 5 times cheaper. CNBC broadcast explained, “The tax burden is different depending on how long you hold Bitcoin and how much profit you have made.”

If the holding period of bitcoin is less than one year, the market gain is classified as a short-term gain, and a normal income tax rate of 10 to 37% is applied depending on the total income. In addition, if the holding period of bitcoin is more than one year, a capital gains tax of up to 20% will be added.

◇Cobit publishes guidelines for virtual asset business and investment

The virtual asset exchange Kobit announced on the 25th that it has published’Guidelines for Virtual Real Estate Business and Investment’.

This guideline was published by Kwangjang Law Firm and Korea Digital Asset Trust (KDAC) in accordance with the enforcement of the amendment to the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information (Specific Financial Information Act).

The guidelines contain questions and answers on legal, tax, accounting guidelines, and issues that may arise in practice for investors and business operators.

First of all, the legal guidelines for investors presented a plan for investing in virtual assets, and explained the issues of regulation on foreign exchange transaction laws related to foreign virtual asset investments, and notes on virtual assets investment.

The tax and accounting guidelines dealt with the amendments to the enactment decree following the 2020 tax law amendment, as well as matters related to the accounting treatment of virtual asset investors.

The legal guidelines for business operators contained the core contents of anti-money laundering (AML) obligations, including the obligation to report the virtual asset business operator (VASP), which is the main content of the Special Money Act, to provide information when remittance.

◇Wizble-Ehost ICT, blockchain service cooperation

‘Wizble’, a company specializing in blockchain platform infrastructure, has started to expand cooperation in blockchain services.

On the 25th, Wisble announced that it has signed a business agreement with Ehost ICT, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, to cooperate with blockchain services at the Ehost ICT headquarters.

With this agreement, the two companies promised △technical cooperation between the data center and blockchain, which is an essential infrastructure for the 4th industrial revolution, and △maintaining a cooperative relationship to occupy a leading position in the blockchain platform business.

Lee Host ICT CEO Kim Chul-min said, “We will do our best to stand out in the upcoming blockchain-based society through practical business sharing and cooperation rather than signing a formal business agreement.”

◇Xverse launches blockchain-based metaverse game’Romong’ in the first half

Xverse announced on the 25th that it will launch a blockchain-based metaverse’RO: MONG’ in the first half of this year, with 2030 millennials as the main consumer.

Romong is a service that allows users to enjoy a second life through a’sub-character’ in a virtual world.

Xverse applied blockchain technology to verify ownership of digital assets created by users in Metaverse.

Users can acquire blockchain-based X-Bus tokens (XVC) by directly participating in the construction of the virtual world, and can create economic value by transacting them in the market.

X-Bus said, “We will also develop the X-Bus SDK, which provides a development environment including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.”