At a meeting of the United States Congress entitled “Building blocks of change: the benefits of Blockchain technology for small businesses” one of the witnesses who testified called current expectations for the taxation of cryptocurrencies for their prevailing complexity.
“Doing your taxes for crypto is the worst nightmare,” said Protocol Labs General Council member Marvin Ammori, asking US representative Steve Chabot about the status of the blockchain as to whether the technology is ready or not. for mass adoption.
A gathering on the potential and application of blockchain
On March 4, the parties met for a hearing on the impact of the blockchain on small businesses.
Four witnesses sat before a panel of government officials, discussing various aspects of blockchain, the technology made famous to support Bitcoin, the greatest asset of crypto. The cryptocurrency itself has also captivated various conversations.
A stab in the US crypto tax scene
Although Ammori said the blockchain is ready for mass adoption, he said the need for some technical changes, including an improved user interface.
Turning to the legal scene, Ammori mentioned the tax difficulties with the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. “The tax treatment is very complicated,” said Ammori.
Using an example, Ammori said:
“If you wanted to spend Bitcoin at a coffee shop this morning, you should keep track of what you paid for Bitcoin and how much it was worth when you spent it, and pay the capital gain or loss on every transaction. ” . “
Describing a solution, Ammori proposed a form of exemption. “If we could have a de minimis tax exemption, which has been proposed – the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act – I think you should all support it,” he said.
Ammori also requested further clarification on the guidelines from the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC.
Before Ammori’s comments, witness Jim Harper of the American Enterprise Institute also expressed the need for clarity from government agencies – for taxes as well as for global regulation in the crypto and blockchain space.
Today’s hearing follows a March 3 cryptography summit at the IRS in Washington, D.C., which also aimed to update regulators on the latest industry developments.
In late 2019, the IRS issued several new guidelines for cryptocurrency tax reporting, although the guidelines have been mixed Comments. Adoption in the form of daily crypto transactions could remain on the sidelines until the IRS resolves the situation.
