2 Senators Propose Exemptions to Crypto Tax Reporting Required by US Infrastructure Bill

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Saturday updated their amendment modifying a crypto tax reporting provision in the Senate's infrastructure bill.

The original amendment, introduced late Thursday, would exclude cryptocurrency miners who are involved in validating transactions on distributed ledgers and companies that are selling private key hardware or software wallets. 

An initial updated version would broaden the exemption beyond just proof-of-work validators, but a second revision appears to exempt only proof-of-work and proof-of-stake validators.

The Senate is expected to vote on both this amendment, as well as a directly competing amendment written by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). The amendment would exempt a broader swath of non-broker entities from the provision.

The current version of the crypto reporting provision in the bill would broaden the definition of a “broker” to any entity in the cryptocurrency industry that facilitates the transfer of digital currencies for another person. Opponents of the provision have said that it would force miners and hardware and software developers to track transactions of individuals who aren't their direct customers.

Jerry Brito, executive director of crypto advocacy think tank Coin Center, noted on Twitter that the amendment didn’t include protocol developers.

Early Saturday, the Senate invoked cloture by a tally of 67-27. That is the first procedural step toward passing the bill. By invoking cloture, the Senate is limiting debate on the measure to 30 hours, thus allowing for a final vote by the chamber later Saturday or on Sunday.

CORRECTION (August 8, 19:05 UTC): An earlier version of this story said U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) had introduced the amendment. The amendment was introduced by Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sinema. Adds updates throughout.