While senator Cynthia Lummis vows to keep fighting for a favorable crypto amendment, there may not be enough time left to pass it.
Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer is now drawing the ire of the cryptocurrency community after blocking attempts to vote on any further amendments to the infrastructure bill.
Senator Ted Cruz claims the cryptocurrency just “screwed up”, adding that the continuation of the original legislation could potentially wreak billions of dollars in damage to the crypto industry.
Ted Cruz said On Twitter:
“Crypto got screwed tonight.
There’s a partisan disagreement on spending, so Dems objected to ALL further amendments.
That means NO vote on Wyden-Lummis to lessen the damage this bill will do to crypto, & NO vote on the Cruz amd. to repeal the new crypto rules altogether.
The result?
The Senate’s going to inflict billions of dollars of damage on the growing & exciting crypto industry & drive much of it overseas.
There aren’t 5 Senators who understand much of anything about crypto.
What the Senate said tonight: Let’s tax the hell out of something we know nothing about, so we can pass a giant bill we haven’t read, and spend the American people’s money on stuff we can’t afford.
It’s reckless & harmful.”
While negotiations appear to be still underway, Jerry Brito, chief executive of the Coin Center, says there is only a small chance that the restrictive language of the bill will change.
US Insfracture Bill, A Real Worry For Crypto Community:
Crypto industry faces a larger problem in the shape of infrastructure bill. US Congress is currently looking for ways to fund an infrastructure bill, which aims to strengthen national railways, tunnels and bridges. One way to raise funds is to close loopholes that permit cryptocurrency holders to dodge taxes.
Officials complain that crypto transactions can evade taxes because of weak reporting standards. Digital assets such as Bitcoin are considered assets by the IRS, meaning that each transaction is subject to capital tax.
The Senate bill contains a provision that aims to raise taxes by $28 billion by forcing more companies to collect tax information. According to IRS officials, additional tax information will help track cryptocurrency earnings.
On Wednesday, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo, introduced an amendment that drills down on the definition of a “broker,” explicitly excluding validators, hardware and software makers as well as protocol developers. It would be a win for the crypto caucus, should it pass.
In the other camp sits Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio – who drafted the original tax provision – along with Mark Warner, D-Va. and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. They submitted their own rival amendment on Thursday. Their proposed amendment remove miners and sellers of hardware and software wallets from the bill. However, the wording of the amendment suggests that crypto developers and proof-of-stake validators will continue to be subject to extended reporting and taxation.
The crypto friendly Senators may not simply have sufficient time since a vote on the amendment must be held by Tuesday morning.
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