US House Democrat Anna Eshoo urges amendments to cryptocurrency provisions in infrastructure bill

U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo, in an open letter, urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi to amend the cryptocurrency tax provisions in the infrastructure bill.

Today I urged Speaker Pelosi to amend the cryptocurrency broker language in the Senate’s infrastructure bill.

The legislation imposes new reporting requirements on miners, validators & developers of wallets who would be unable to comply with these requirements. #DontKillCrypto pic.twitter.com/TSmSL21D5z

— Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (@RepAnnaEshoo) August 12, 2021

The congresswoman noted that the definition of ‘broker’ for the cryptocurrency industry in the document is too broad. This category includes not only exchanges or marketplaces for digital assets, but also, for example, miners, validators, and wallet developers.

“In a decentralized cryptocurrency system, participants do not know who is buying and selling the assets, and they cannot comply with the regulatory requirements for brokers,” wrote Eshoo.

She noted that in the Senate worked out a bipartisan compromise amendment to the infrastructure plan, which was supported by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. However, the changes to the bill were not adopted due to procedural issues, and the document went to the House of Representatives in its original form.

“I share the goals of the core provision aimed at cracking down on tax evasion in the cryptocurrency market, but the House should amend it with measures such as the bipartisan compromise to achieve this goal without stifling innovation in a nascent industry by introducing unworkable rules,” concluded Anna Eshoo.

As previously noted, the infrastructure funding plan contemplates raising an additional $28 billion in taxes from cryptocurrency transactions.

Experts criticised the bill for its expansive definition of ‘broker’, which covers virtually all participants in the industry.