In a statement, Coinbase’s global tax vice president expressed his displeasure with Congress for rushing through controversial crypto tax provisions as part of an infrastructure package, saying that the bill might affect up to 60 million Americans.
Cryptocurrency provisions were rushed into the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Congress at the last minute, according to Coinbase Global VP of Tax Lawrence Zlatkin, who blasted lawmakers for cramming amendments that could affect “60 million Americans” into a bipartisan infrastructure bill at the last minute.
According to Zlatkin, who wrote a blog post on Aug. 21 in response to an Aug. 19 editorial article from Bloomberg that praised the infrastructure bill’s crypto provisions, there has been little opportunity for public discussion about the legislation, despite the fact that 20 percent of the United States’ population is invested in digital assets:
“Today, around 60 million Americans own crypto — roughly one-fifth of the entire U.S. population. Those Americans, and the entire crypto ecosystem, deserve more dialogue than midnight provisions inserted at the last minute.”
Zlatkin points out that concern over the bill’s language spilled beyond the crypto industry’s walls, saying that estimates suggest that the popular “public outcry” resulted in roughly 80,000 people contacting lawmakers in “just a few days.”
Coinbase’s executive highlighted the broad definition of “broker” included in the bill, which could impose stringent reporting requirements on network validators and software developers who would be unable to comply with their obligations under the bill in its current form, as well as the bill’s broad definition of “broker.”
The lawyer continued, “As long as the statute mandates that software developers, miners, and stakers perform the impossible, there is no lawyer who would advise them to take the risk of operating in violation of laws whose penalties for non-compliance would easily bankrupt them.”
“This will harm innovation and stifle the potential of a hugely important technology at its earliest stages of development […] Tax policy should be thoughtful and deliberate. Broad overreach is a regulatory mistake.”
Digital asset brokers, according to Zlatkin, should be subject to the same third-party reporting obligations as traditional brokerage businesses.
Despite the controversial infrastructure measure having cleared the Senate earlier this month, observers are hopeful that there will be possibilities to change the law as it proceeds to the House of Representatives Crypto bill (Bipartisan) passes US House of Representatives for the second time for consideration in the coming months.
