Crypto Organizations Say $ 28 Billion Tax Plan in Senate Infrastructure Bill “Looming Threat” to Industry

• Crypto executives have said the new tax provisions in the Senate infrastructure plan are an “imminent threat.”

• The Senate bill added new reporting rules for crypto trading companies and brokers.

• The estimated $ 28 billion in new taxes would help fund President Joe Biden’s infrastructure program.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

Cryptocurrency organizations on Friday asked Congress to reconsider the wording of the Senate infrastructure bill that posed an “imminent threat” to the industry.

President Joe Biden’s $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which includes hundreds of billions in funding for roads, railways and broadband access, is believed to be partly funded by the increase in revenue from cryptocurrency taxes, according to the White House.

Last week’s Senate bill added new rules for crypto trading companies and brokers. They should report additional information on certain transactions, including those over $ 10,000.

The updates could bring in around $ 28 billion in new tax revenue in its first decade, Bloomberg News and The New York Times reported.

The Blockchain Association issued an open letter on Friday saying, “What Congress is considering with this measure is not a new tax on the cryptocurrency industry. Instead, it imposes new reporting requirements on individual industry players who have no way of complying. “

The letter said the provision amounted to “an imminent threat to the budding crypto industry here in America.”

Kristin Smith, executive director of the association, said in a statement Thursday that the crypto industry was “eager” to see updated guidelines for reporting exchanges to the IRS. But the wording of the bill was “hastily drafted,” she said.

Jerry Brito, executive director of the Coin Center think tank, noted the wording of the project was “so broad” that it would add new reports for many organizations that “have no visibility into user transactions”.

Smith added, “So not only will these types of reporting requirements push companies and jobs overseas – ceding US leadership in the crypto space to our international competitors – they won’t collect the returns. $ 28 billion that Congress thinks they will provide. “

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