US senators propose new crypto bill limiting capital gains tax
According to the US senators, even the youngest crypto owner in the US should find life easy with cryptocurrencies
Two US senators have proposed a new comprehensive bill amending crypto capital gains tax reporting, addressing appropriate government control of crypto, stablecoins, and consumer protection. As part of the upcoming legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R, WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) are proposing a tax exemption for up to a specific amount of capital gains on cryptocurrencies.
Lummis and Gillibrand are also calling on the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to protect crypto exchange users from financial losses caused by security breaches, in line with the Commission's newly adopted accounting processes aimed at safeguarding consumer assets. Both senators feel that crypto should be given a capital gains tax exemption up to a specific amount, allowing for greater ease of use, unlike traditional asset classes such as equities and bonds.
“This is not like owning a stock because you're not using your stock portfolio to play a computer game online,” says Gillibrand. “Imagine a kid owning some cryptocurrency in a game, and if he has $40 worth of cryptocurrency, you need to have a de minimis amount so that kid’s not filing taxes.”
The senators are proposing a $600 ceiling for no tax reporting duties, in an attempt to make life easy for even the youngest crypto owner in the United States. According to Lummis in an interview with Yahoo Finance, "We came up with a number of $600 just to start out with, but among the things that we’re doing is sharing our bill draft with a number of constituents so we can get feedback."
Senator Lummis also wants to delay the debut of a central bank digital currency, claiming that the CBDC should only deal with the central bank and not with the general public. The ultimate goal for both senators is to create a competitive regulatory environment that encourages crypto companies to conduct business in the United States.
Shashank is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash