A deal struck yesterday between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and moderates, will prevent any more amendments being presented on the bi-partisan infrastructure package.
The deal is yet more bad news for crypto, as lobbyists are now prevented from coming up with amendments to the definition of the term ‘broker’, which has such huge consequences for certain actors within the crypto industry.
In an article published by the Washington Post a short time ago, it was explained that moderates had managed to get Pelosi to agree to a Sept 27 date for passing the bill, which will include $3.5 trillion to be spent on infrastructure, with the crypto industry footing up to $30 billion of it in proposed taxes.
The language in the bill used to define the term ‘broker’ is causing much polemic debate, and lawmakers from both sides of the house are supporting a change to clarify the issue.
Republican Tom Emmer is leading the bipartisan Congressional Blockchain Caucus, which has issued a letter to Congress, calling on it to change the current “dangerous” provision that allows the Treasury Department to define exactly who is a broker, and therefore who is required to pay taxes.
According to the Washington Post article, the Treasury has “promised to clarify its definition of broker”, stating:
“Other firms key to the nearly $2 trillion crypto market — from developers and miners to hardware and software providers — won’t have any new requirements, so long as they don’t also act as brokers, according to a Treasury official,”
However, Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury is coming in for some flak from pro-crypto lobbyists, according to Jeff Stein, author of another article today on the Washington Post:
“Investors and lobbyists were incensed by Treasury’s push this month for new tax reporting requirements on cryptocurrencies as part of the $1 trillion infrastructure package. They complain that Treasury officials do not return their calls, refuse to take their views seriously and do not give them advance notice about moves related to their industry. (A Treasury spokesman rejected this characterization.) Backers of cryptocurrency have lobbed thousands of posts on social media and in chat forums claiming that Yellen wants to annihilate the industry.”
Meanwhile, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis has vowed to “use any avenue” in order to clarify the definition of a “broker”:
“I’m hopeful that in the Senate, before the end of this calendar year, that we will have a stand-alone original piece of legislation on the floor of the Senate that will define not only a broker in a very clear manner but a lot of other terms that are used in the digital asset world and that would be helpful to them as we form this framework of regulation that allows them to continue to innovate and grow,”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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