U.S. Legislators have asked the Blockchain Association for crypto tax advice, and the group has responded

U.S. Senate Financial Services Committee lawmakers said in July that they will welcome public comments on crypto taxation through September 8.

The Blockchain Association, a cryptocurrency advocacy organization located in the United States, has provided ideas for the tax treatment of digital assets to be considered by politicians.

The Blockchain Association urged U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo to back legislation to alter reporting requirements for some taxpayers participating in crypto transactions in a letter dated September 8. The lobbying organization claims that Congress needs to “create symmetry” between how cryptocurrencies and other assets are taxed, and that it also needs to make it clear what data is needed to report earnings from staking and mining cryptocurrencies.

Establishing a de minimis criterion to exclude profits or losses of some crypto transactions from tax reporting obligations was one of the suggestions, which was also offered by crypto advocacy organization Coin Center in August. The Blockchain Association rushed to get their letter in before the U.S. Senate Financial Services Committee stopped taking answers to their request made in July.

The letter dated September 8 argued that the Committee’s attention should be directed at crafting “intentional, measured legislation” on the topic of digital asset taxes. The Association requests that the Committee “take care not to enact legislation that provides less-favorable tax treatment for digital assets as compared to other assets” and instead work on legislation that “would level the playing field for digital assets compared to other assets.”

The two senators were also advised to oppose an excise tax on mining digital assets, as suggested by the Biden administration, on the grounds that doing so would “inhibit the growth and development” of the cryptocurrency business. A 30% excise tax on power used by crypto miners was proposed in March as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2024.

After the IRS announced on July 31 that filers must record staking awards as gross income in the year they were received, establishing new criteria for U.S. taxpayers in 2024, politicians in the United States began calling for crypto tax guidelines. Buying, selling, and exchanging crypto assets are primarily taxed as capital gains and losses by the IRS, and mining rewards are treated no differently.

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