Published
2 years ago on
August 11, 2021
The U.S. Senate has just passed a $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Bill, a controversial legislation that includes a proposal on the taxation of crypto purchases and transfers to fund the development of infrastructure.
A provision within the bill details how stricter implementations and extensions of regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and digital assets will bring in an additional $28 billion of state revenue, collected directly from cryptocurrency transactions.
The U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to pass the bill, which is meant as an infusion for funding the nation’s public works under the Biden administration. However, as CryptoDaily has noted, there have been legislative roadblocks to the processing of this bill.
Concerns over the tax reporting requirements have been leveled by crypto lobbyists and industry associations.
“We’ve known for a long time that we are under-resourced and understaffed. What the crypto industry has woken up to is that they need to invest in Washington.” said Blockchain Association executive director Kristin Smith.
Four co-chairs of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus issued a letter to the Senate, saying:
“Cryptocurrency tax reporting is important, but it must be done correctly. When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act comes to the House, we must prioritize amending this language to clearly exempt noncustodial blockchain intermediaries and ensure that civil liberties are protected.”
Tom Emmer, a co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, tweeted:
Crypto is not a partisan issue – the bipartisan Blockchain Caucus is working to educate Members so we can fix this dangerous provision when it comes to the House.
— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) August 9, 2021
A bipartisan amendment to the infrastructure bill was recently blocked by the Senate, a move which effectively left legislative language for broad oversight of cryptocurrencies and digital assets unexamined and unclear.
The amendment was aimed at addressing concerns that represented the cryptocurrency industry, which the bill is set to require for the reporting of tax data to the Internal Revenue Service. The amendment was proposed by three Republicans: Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, and Cynthia Lummis; in collaboration with two Democrats: Mark Warner and Kyrsten Sinema. This particular issue will be revisited as the bill heads to the House of Representatives for further review this coming fall.
The lack of clarity would mean a wider berth of interpretation from regulators as to the status and implementation of the bill’s provisions on cryptocurrencies and their requisite taxation to boost the infrastructure budget.
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