Senators Aim to Amend Infrastructure Bill’s Crypto Rules

A pair of U.S. senators is introducing a bill that would change some of the cryptocurrency tax reporting rules included in the new $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill.

As Bloomberg News reported on Monday (Nov. 15), the bill — which was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, and Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming — would override a section of the infrastructure legislation that crypto investors say is too broad and would hurt growth.

President Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill into law on Monday afternoon, but Wyden and Lummis’ legislation is written to be retroactive to the infrastructure bill’s signing.

Read more: Crypto Tax Laws Slipped Into $1T Infrastructure Bill

“Our bill makes it clear that the new reporting requirements do not apply to individuals developing blockchain technology and wallets,” Wyden said in a statement. “This will protect American innovation while at the same time ensuring that those who buy and sell cryptocurrency pay the taxes they already owe.”

According to Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency rules were added to the infrastructure bill to offset some of the cost of its spending. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation says these rules would raise around $28 billion over the course of a decade.

As PYMNTS reported earlier this month, the infrastructure bill would require businesses to report digital asset transactions above $10,000 to the IRS. In addition, anyone making digital coin transfers would need to report that info to the IRS. The legislation would also authorize the IRS to seek taxes that the government had not known about, as the transactions weren’t required to be reported.

Read more: Contentious Bitcoin Tax Reporting Plan Awaits Biden’s Signature

Cryptocurrency advocates and companies have been lobbying to amend the bill since this summer, when the tax requirements were added to the bill. Both Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong have said they support amending the existing bill.

“Digital assets are here to stay in our financial system and the decisions we make now will have impacts far into the future,” Lummis said in a statement. “We need to be fostering innovation, not stifling it.”