White House backs senators pushing for stricter crypto reporting rules – By MacKenzie Sigalos (CNBC) / Aug 6 2021
- There is a crypto amendment battle underway between two camps of senators.
- The fight is over a provision in the bipartisan bill, which raises money through stricter tax rules on cryptocurrency transactions.
- The White House wrote in a statement late Thursday that the “amendment put forward by Senators Warner, Portman, and Sinema strikes the right balance and makes an important step forward in promoting tax compliance.”
The White House weighed in – somewhat out of the blue – on a contentious battle over competing crypto amendments to the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. It’s chosen to back the side that isn’t as friendly to the world of bitcoin and ethereum.
The fight is over a provision in the bipartisan bill, which raises money through stricter tax rules on cryptocurrency transactions. Crypto advocates argue that the language in the legislation, which requires brokers of digital assets to report on crypto trading gains, is vague and too broad. And now, amendments are circulating in order to narrow the scope.
On Wednesday, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. introduced an amendment that drills down on the definition of a “broker,” explicitly excluding validators, hardware and software makers as well as protocol developers. It would be a win for the crypto caucus, should it pass.
In the other camp sits Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio – who drafted the original tax provision – along with Mark Warner, D-Va. and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. They submitted their own rival amendment on Thursday. CNBC does not have a copy of the proposed Portman-Warner amendment.
