The new infrastructure bill signed by US President Joe Biden includes a crypto language that makes it easy for the IRS to bring transparency in crypto tax reporting.
On Monday, November 15, US President Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill after months of scrutiny from the Senate and House of Representatives. The $1 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act thus become the law of the land.
Infrastructure Bill Signed by Biden
US President Joe Biden signed the bill in a ceremony on the White House lawn in front of reporters, lawmakers and union workers. Basically, the bill focuses on the funding of roads, internet access, bridges, EV charging stations and other infrastructure projects. However, lawmakers have also included the language for digital assets before passing the bill.
While signing the bill, US President Joe Biden said that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will deliver historic benefits to American families. “Today, we’re finally getting this done. America is moving again,” he added.
On Monday, many speakers said that the Democrats and Republicans have worked together in passing the bill. On a personal note, Biden thanked Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Rob Portman. Besides, he also thanked Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for helping in getting the legislation through the Senate. The US President said:
“For too long, we’ve talked about having the best economy in the world. […] Today, we’re finally getting this done. America is moving again, and your life is going to change for the better.”
Crypto Brokers Get New Definition
The infrastructure bill also includes new definitions of “broker” among crypto network participants. It expands the reporting requirements of crypto brokers while implementing tighter rules for businesses handling digital assets.
The bill rather seeks to increase transparency for the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). It also notes that digital asset transactions worth more than $10,000 shall be reported to the IRS. Furthermore, the bill also runs the risk of requiring node operators to identify information related to crypto transactions that they have no way of reporting.
With this crypto language, a majority of the senators still voted in favor of the bill. Pennsylvania’s Republican Senator Pat Toomey, however, criticized it saying that the crypto tax reporting requirement seems “unworkable”. Toomey called the entire bill as “too expensive, too expansive, too unpaid for and too threatening to the innovative cryptocurrency economy”.
The crypto reporting requirement will go into effect in 2024. Many senators also called the recent inclusion of crypto as a “call to action”.
There’s rising adoption of digital assets among US citizens. This is also appearing in the recent political selection and voting.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
