It’s a Senate fight causing an unusual cast of characters to team up: Jack Dorsey, head of Twitter, Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS, …
It’s a Senate fight causing an unusual cast of characters to team up: Jack Dorsey, head of Twitter, Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS, and Elon Musk of Tesla. Those three are on the same side in an unexpected clash among senators racing to pass President Joe Biden’s $550 billion infrastructure bill sometime early next week. Two bipartisan Senate gangs are dueling in a sudden showdown over cryptocurrency tax enforcement in the legislation. It’s a fight that’s scrambled the partisan politics Congress is usually known for and provides a glimpse into how lawmakers may further regulate the burgeoning trillion-dollar industry. GOP Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, along with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon are partnering on an amendment to exempt cryptocurrency miners, software developers, and protocol developers from tax reporting requirements because they say they’re unable to produce the information to comply. These miners are individuals and companies who generate digital coins. The crypto overhaul triggered last-minute pushback from the White House, which sought to preserve the Treasury Department’s flexibility to draft new rules. The Biden administration endorsed a rival amendment on Thursday from Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. They said it would lead to greater tax compliance. The measure would exempt a significant number of actors, but not to the extent the Wyden amendment does. There were few immediate signs of progress on Saturday.
