A group of U.S. senators recently urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to work with Congress to ensure that the cryptocurrency provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is implemented in alignment with congressional intent.
“We thank you and your team for working with us in implementing this IIJA provision. We ask that you carefully consider the characteristics of the technologies which drive this space, which may include differences in the consensus mechanisms of various distributed ledgers and second-layer protocols. We have conveyed to our constituents that we will continue working with you to ensure that the provision is implemented as Congress intended, and we look forward to doing so,” the senators wrote in a letter to Yellen.
The letter was sent by U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
The senators pointed out that this is the federal government’s first attempt at incorporating digital assets into our nation’s tax code. This has led to concerns over how it will interpret the provision’s definition of “broker.” So, the senators have asked the Treasury Department to issue informal guidance regarding the definition of “broker” as discussed during the legislative process.
“Digital assets could be impactful technological developments in certain sectors, and clear guidelines on tax reporting requirements will be important to those in this ecosystem. It will be important that we continue to work to provide further clarity and to help ensure that the United States remains a global leader in financial innovation and development while ensuring that this technology does not become a vector for illicit finance, tax evasion, or other criminal activity,” the senators added.