Kraken sent 56 million tax forms to the Internal Revenue Service last year. Nearly a third covered transactions worth less than a dollar. More than 75% were for trades under $50. Those numbers, cited by the crypto exchange last month, have added weight to a growing call in Congress to rethink how small digital asset transactions are taxed in the United States.
A Study, Not An ExemptionWhat it does is direct the Treasury Department to examine whether one should exist, and to report back within 180 days on what relief it can offer under its current authority.
Innovation should create opportunity for everyone, not just those already ahead.
The Digital Asset PARITY Act modernizes the tax code for the digital age, creates clearer rules, and ensures emerging financial tools help expand financial inclusion and pathways to wealth.
The Treasury would also be asked to outline what resources the IRS would need if a de minimis exemption were eventually passed into law — and what kinds of fraud or abuse such an exemption might invite.
Republican Representative Max Miller, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the US tax code has not kept pace with how fast digital assets have grown.
“As America continues to lead the world in innovation, our tax code has failed to keep pace with the rapid growth of digital assets and modern financial technology,” Miller said in a statement.
The PARITY Act carries over a section from an earlier draft that would treat regulated payment stablecoins like cash for tax purposes.
Under that provision, no gains or losses would be recognized on stablecoin transactions unless the cost basis of those tokens falls below 99% of their redemption value.
The bill also seeks to apply wash sale rules to crypto — a change that would close a loophole that stock investors are not allowed to use but crypto traders currently are.
A Race Against The ClockFeatured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
