Members Of Congress Lobby To Amend Crypto Broker Definition In Infra Bill

Table of Contents

• Speaker Pelosi Appealed To Reword Taxation Requirement
• Senators And Congress Members Demand Amendment

Anna Eshoo, a Californian Congresswoman, and others joined the lobbying efforts to amend tax reporting requirements as mentioned in the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. 

Speaker Pelosi Appealed To Reword Taxation Requirement

Anna Eshoo, who represents California’s 18th Congressional District, has written to Democratic party speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on August 12, with requests to amend the controversial mandate in the Infrastructure Bill. The particular section that the Congresswoman has drawn attention to is the controversial reporting requirement for taxation purposes. Eshoo believes, similar to the crypto community at large, that the current definition of cryptocurrency broker will unfairly tax all intermediary parties like miners, validators, software developers, hardware manufacturers, and so on and require them to report information for the IRS. 

She wrote,

“In the decentralized system of cryptocurrencies, these individuals and entities do not know who the buyers and sellers are and would be unable to comply with the broker requirements.”

Since the bill needs to clear the US House of Representatives before the language is finalized, several House members are making a last-ditch effort by appealing to Speaker Pelosi and calling for an amendment. 

Rep. Eshoo tweeted, 

“While we should address tax evasion, the House must amend the bill to meet this goal without stifling innovation in a nascent industry by imposing unworkable regulations.”

Senators And Congress Members Demand Amendment

Eshoo is not alone in her attempts to amend the controversial bill. Members of the US Senate like Pat Toomey, Cynthia Lummis, and Ron Wyden also agree that the current broker category is too broadly defined and needs to be re-addressed. They had earlier proposed an amendment that would trim down the reporting requirements to only entities that conduct transactions on digital trading exchanges. Non-financial intermediaries like miners, network validators, and other service providers would thus be exempt from the requirement of information reporting. However, the amendment was rejected when the bill was presented on 10th August.  

Another US lawmaker who has voiced his opposition to the bill’s language is Congressman Tom Emmer. On Monday, he circulated a letter to his fellow house representatives discussing the need to update the wording. 

He wrote, 

“Cryptocurrency tax reporting is important, but it must be done correctly. We must prioritize amending this language to clearly exempt noncustodial blockchain intermediaries and ensure that civil liberties are protected.”

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.