IRS Appoints Two Private Sector Crypto Experts to Focus on Digital Assets, Including Former Binance.US Executive

Table of Contents

• IRS Draws on Private Sector Expertise
• Transactions Over $10,000 No Longer Need to Be Reported

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hired two private-sector cryptocurrency experts to focus on digital assets amid the tax season. One of the newly appointed experts is a former Binance.US executive. 

The US IRS recently appointed two former digital-asset executives to improve its crypto knowledge. One of the experts is Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee, the former global head of tax at ConsenSys and a former Binance.US executive. 

IRS Draws on Private Sector Expertise

It is tax season in the US. The official tax filing season opened on January 29, 2024, and the IRS has issued several notices urging citizens to declare income from cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Bloomberg Law reports the IRS appointed two former private sector crypto experts to help the agency “beef up” its crypto expertise. 

According to a notification from the IRS, the agency appointed Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee, a former Binance.US executive and Seth Wilkens. Until recently, Wilken was the Vice President of government relations and success at crypto tax software firm TaxBit. Mukherjee and Wilks have extensive experience in the tax and crypto industries and will help the IRS build reporting, compliance and enforcement programs focusing on digital assets. Mr Mukherjee has about ten years of experience in tax compliance and tax information reporting, while Mr Wilks worked in the digital asset tax policy space over the past six years. 

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said:

“This is a complex and evolving sector that has major tax administration implications.” 

Adding;

“It’s important we get this right for taxpayers and the nation. Pulling in expertise from the private sector to work with the IRS team is critical to successfully building the agency’s efforts involving digital assets and helping us do it in a way that works well for everyone.”

Doug O’Donnell, IRS Deputy Commissioner of Services and Enforcement, commented on the duo’s appointment:

“Seth and Raj expand our ability to understand this sector while designing systems for reporting of cryptocurrency and digital assets and related transactions. Improving employee capacity and access to tools in this rapidly evolving global landscape is a top IRS priority.”

Transactions Over $10,000 No Longer Need to Be Reported

On January 1, 2024, a new tax law required US businesses to report digital assets worth over $10,000 to the IRS within 15 days. On January 16, the Treasury and IRS announced that the $10,000 reporting rule may be ignored until the department releases a new regulatory framework.

The IRS said:

“This announcement provides transitional guidance under section 6050I with respect to reporting transactions involving receipt of digital assets and clarifies that at this time, digital assets are not required to be included when determining whether cash received in a single transaction (or two or more related transactions) meets the reporting threshold.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.