{"id":666453,"date":"2021-08-20T17:20:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T21:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=666453"},"modified":"2021-08-20T17:20:24","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T21:20:24","slug":"house-lawmakers-set-to-square-off-with-white-house-treasury-department-over-stifling-crypto-tax-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-lawmakers-set-to-square-off-with-white-house-treasury-department-over-stifling-crypto-tax-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"House Lawmakers Set To Square Off With White House, Treasury Department Over \u2018Stifling\u2019 Crypto Tax Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-lawmakers-set-to-square-off-with-white-house-treasury-department-over-stifling-crypto-tax-plan%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=666453&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/janetyellen-scaled-e1629481645993.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>House lawmakers are set to consider a controversial and last-minute cryptocurrency tax provision that has been criticized as vague, expansive, and potentially unworkable, with many fearing it could stifle the industry and force companies to collect personal information on their customers.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The provision has the backing of the Biden administration. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen personally lobbied lawmakers earlier this month, advocating for more stringent regulation of digital assets.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cThe bill will allow the Treasury Department to basically write whatever reporting requirements they want, and given that the department has been so aggressive, Congress really needs to assert its will here,\u201d Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson told the DCNF.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>House lawmakers are set to return from recess Monday and will likely take up the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill the Senate passed last week \u2014 and with it, a controversial and last-minute cryptocurrency tax provision.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epw.senate.gov\/public\/_cache\/files\/e\/a\/ea1eb2e4-56bd-45f1-a260-9d6ee951bc96\/F8A7C77D69BE09151F210EB4DFE872CD.edw21a09.pdf\">bill<\/a> contains a tax reporting mandate forcing cryptocurrency \u201cbrokers\u201d to disclose gains and transactions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as part of a scheme designed to help cover part of the infrastructure bill\u2019s cost. However, the bill\u2019s definition of \u201cbroker\u201d has been <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/technology-joe-biden-business-bills-cryptocurrency-92628a41124230448f65fdeb89ffad7d\">criticized<\/a> by the cryptocurrency community and pro-crypto lawmakers as vague, expansive and potentially unworkable, with many fearing it could stifle the industry and force crypto companies to collect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2021\/08\/cryptocurrency-surveillance-provision-buried-infrastructure-bill-disaster-digital\">personal information<\/a>&nbsp;on their customers.<\/p>\n<p>The provision defines a broker as \u201cany person who is responsible for regularly providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person,\u201d and forces brokers to report transactions to the IRS in a form similar to a 1099. This means brokers have to collect and report customer information such as names, addresses, and taxpayer identification numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the provision say the definition is too broad and could include software developers and \u201cminers\u201d \u2014 people who lend computing power to verify transactions in exchange for cryptocurrency \u2014 who don\u2019t have access to that information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese entities do not have customers, they are not in the business of acquiring and safeguarding personal \u2018customer\u2019 information, and this provision makes it impossible for miners, software developers, and potentially even those engaging in DeFi [decentralized finance] to comply with the law,\u201d Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer told the Daily Caller News Foundation. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/11\/pat-toomey-ted-cruz-cynthia-lummis-cryptocurrency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Cruz, Toomey Slam \u2018Unworkable\u2019 Cryptocurrency Tax Scheme To Pay For Infrastructure Bill)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The provision has the backing of the Biden administration, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen personally lobbying lawmakers earlier this month to object to an amendment by Sens. Pat Toomey, Rob Wyden, and Cynthia Lummis clarifying the proposed \u201cbroker\u201d definition, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2021\/08\/06\/crypto-bitcoin-infrastructure-senate\/\">The Washington Post<\/a>&nbsp;reported. Yellen has previously <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/currencies\/bitcoin-price-cryptocurrency-should-be-curtailed-terrorism-concerns-yellen-2021-1\">advocated<\/a> for more stringent regulation of digital assets, suggesting lawmakers \u201ccurtail\u201d the use of cryptocurrencies, and characterizing them as little more than a means of tax evasion.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"10.983379501385\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Today I urged Speaker Pelosi to amend the cryptocurrency broker language in the Senate\u2019s infrastructure bill.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation imposes new reporting requirements on miners, validators &amp; developers of wallets who would be unable to comply with these requirements. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DontKillCrypto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DontKillCrypto<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TSmSL21D5z\">pic.twitter.com\/TSmSL21D5z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (@RepAnnaEshoo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepAnnaEshoo\/status\/1425854869122998273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 12, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe bill will allow the Treasury Department to basically write whatever reporting requirements they want, and given that the department has been so aggressive, Congress really needs to assert its will here,\u201d Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>House Lawmakers Voice Their Concerns<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The Senate passed the bill without amending the provision, leaving it up to the House to address the controversial requirements. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/01\/justice-department-internal-revenue-service-cryptocurrency-john-doe-summons-taxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Court Authorizes IRS To Acquire Information On Cryptocurrency Users Who May Have Flouted Taxes)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very hopeful. There\u2019s been a buzz on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers who otherwise would not be involved have taken an interest in cryptocurrency, especially on the Democratic side,\u201d Davidson said.<\/p>\n<p>The chairs of the Blockchain Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers favorable to the cryptocurrency industry, sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepTomEmmer\/status\/1424845416697323522\">letter<\/a>&nbsp;to every House member last week requesting they vote to amend the bill and fix the requirements. The letter, signed by Republican Reps. Tom Emmer and David Schweikert along with Democratic Reps. Bill Foster and Darren Soto, warned the tax requirements could threaten the growth of the industry as well as impinge on privacy rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must continue to oversee the regulators and ensure that they are committed to crafting a regulatory environment that reflects an understanding of the potential that crypto holds and encourages innovation,\u201d Emmer told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo sent a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/eshoo.house.gov\/sites\/eshoo.house.gov\/files\/Aug12_Crypto.pdf\">letter<\/a> to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week urging her to amend the \u201cbroker\u201d definition, describing it as \u201cunworkable\u201d and \u201cstifling.\u201d Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cryptocurrency-advocates-rally-second-push-fix-tax-provision-major-industry-threat\">Washington Examiner<\/a>&nbsp;the bill \u201cpicks winners and losers,\u201d while Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry said the provision would \u201champer innovation\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PatrickMcHenry\/status\/1424848628691185668\">vowed<\/a>&nbsp;to fight it in the House.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"9.871875\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I, along with bipartisan Blockchain Caucus co-chairs <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepDarrenSoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepDarrenSoto<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepDavid?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepDavid<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepBillFoster?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepBillFoster<\/a> sent a letter to every single Representative in the House raising concerns about the Senate infrastructure bill being paid for by our crypto industry. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MzsEmBbosr\">pic.twitter.com\/MzsEmBbosr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepTomEmmer\/status\/1424845416697323522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 9, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4>Opposition From The Biden Administration<\/h4>\n<p>Despite vocal and bipartisan support for amending the bill, lawmakers face opposition from the Treasury Department and the White House, who are backing the provision because the vague definition of \u201cbroker\u201d will allow greater flexibility when writing regulations, an administration official told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/08\/13\/crypto-house-democrats-tax-fight-504341\">Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Davidson warned the administration could use the bill\u2019s language to impose burdensome requirements that would hamper the growth of the industry and drive innovation overseas, as well as force companies and individuals to collect sensitive customer information to comply with the regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the folks in the Treasury Department are working to stifle this industry in the United States,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people who have used the financial system as means of control and surveillance, and the idea that this new technology would prevent that is, in some cases, a complete threat to their business model.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want the Treasury Department to put some sort of regime in place that forces individuals exchanging cryptocurrencies peer-to-peer to start collecting personal information,\u201d Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, a cryptocurrency trade organization, told the DCNF. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/12\/cryptocurrency-lobbying-bitcoin-ripple-sec-ether-dogecoin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: The Cryptocurrency Industry Has Started Throwing Money Around The Swamp)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An anonymous Treasury Department official told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-08-13\/treasury-seeks-to-quell-fears-crypto-tax-rules-are-overly-broad\">Bloomberg<\/a> last week the department is due to announce a clarification of its \u201cbroker\u201d definition, potentially avoiding some of the concerns cryptocurrency proponents have raised. However, industry advocates say the vague language in the bill still leaves the door open for potential overreach.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"12.449101796407\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8The Senate is on the verge of passing legislation that would be TERRIBLE for cryptocurrency.\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>The infrastructure deal contains DANGEROUS provisions that would devastate crypto and blockchain innovation.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of crypto need to make their voices heard. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iXrcnne0tV\">https:\/\/t.co\/iXrcnne0tV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tedcruz\/status\/1424097171578757120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 7, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe definition should be specified in law rather than left up to the interpretation of the Treasury Department,\u201d Neeraj Agrawal, director of communications at cryptocurrency think tank Coin Center, told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>The Treasury Department has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/treasury-secretary-mnuchin-says-there-is-strong-support-to-regulate-digital-currencies-2020-12-07\">historically<\/a> pushed for more aggressive regulation of the cryptocurrencies, and those in the industry fear a less charitable interpretation of the bill could threaten growth and innovation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want for them down the road to decide they\u2019re going to change the definition,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would really like to see America\u2019s history of innovation continue,\u201d Alexandra Gaiser, director of regulatory affairs at cryptocurrency brokerage River Financial, told the DCNF. \u201cThis is an opportunity for another Silicon Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The White House has also publicly backed the provision, issuing&nbsp;a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/08\/06\/white-house-backs-senators-pushing-for-stricter-crypto-reporting-rules.html\">statement<\/a> in support of another amendment proposed by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Mark Warner and Rob Portman that slightly clarified the reporting requirements but was nevertheless <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-08-06\/dueling-crypto-plans-pit-white-house-against-key-democrat\">criticized<\/a>&nbsp;by the crypto community as offering inadequate protection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Administration believes this provision will strengthen tax compliance in this emerging area of finance and ensure that high income taxpayers are contributing what they owe under the law,\u201d wrote deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/12\/22\/sec-sues-cryptocurrency-firm-illegal-securities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: SEC Sues Cryptocurrency Firm Over $1.3 Billion In Illegal Securities)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Biden\u2019s proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/system\/files\/136\/The-American-Families-Plan-Tax-Compliance-Agenda.pdf\">tax framework<\/a>&nbsp;in the American Families Plan seeks to institute \u201ccomprehensive reporting\u201d requirements for digital assets, and would allocate additional resources to the IRS to fight cryptocurrency tax evasion.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"9.7237569060773\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is not the end. This is a public negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>If the Senate can\u2019t get it done, we\u2019ll fight it out in the House. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Crypto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Crypto<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Patrick McHenry (@PatrickMcHenry) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PatrickMcHenry\/status\/1424848628691185668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 9, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Though there is support for amending the bill, lawmakers face procedural hurdles.<\/p>\n<p>Speaker Nancy Pelosi has <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/16\/nancy-pelosi-floats-infrastructure-budget-simultaneously-moderates-progressives-feud-chuck-schumer-congress-joe-biden\/\">indicated<\/a>&nbsp;the House could vote on the infrastructure bill along with the $3.5 trillion <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/09\/democrats-3-trillion-budget-resolution-partisan-fight-chuck-schume\/\">budget resolution<\/a> without permitting amendments. Though Pelosi could review the infrastructure bill\u2019s language, a House leadership aide told Politico, Rep. Davidson said it\u2019s unlikely she allows the bill to be amended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to work with a few senior Democrats to get some momentum going,\u201d Davidson said, floating the possibility of additional legislation clarifying the \u201cbroker\u201d definition.<\/p>\n<p>The situation is further complicated by a rift among House Democrats as moderates <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/13\/house-moderates-block-budget-infrastructure-law-nancy-pelosi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">push<\/a>&nbsp;for a vote on the infrastructure bill before the budget resolution, against the wishes of Pelosi and more progressive members of the party. Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House, and can only afford three defections if all Republicans vote down the bill.<\/p>\n<p>If the provision remains and the infrastructure bill is passed, crypto advocates say they\u2019re prepared to work with the Treasury Department during the rulemaking process. However, they would prefer to resolve the problem with legislation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Treasury Department is always going to be less understanding, and less willing to adopt new technology,\u201d Alexander Leishman, founder and CEO of River Financial, told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House lawmakers are set to consider a controversial and last-minute cryptocurrency tax provision that has been criticized as vague, expansive, and potentially unworkable, with many fearing it could stifle the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}