Patrick Witt, the White House’s crypto policy adviser, expressed his backing of a fresh digital asset tax bill that has been submitted in the U.S. House panel. With that now, lawmakers respond to long-standing industry issues of staking, mining and crypto transactions.
White House Crypto Advisor Lauds US Crypto Tax Bills
Posting on X, Trump’s crypto advisor Witt said: “Clarity for market structure, Parity for tax. Great work, Ways and Means Committee.”
Six separate tax proposals targeting cryptocurrencies were introduced by the House Ways and Means Committee ahead of a hearing on June 9. The measures address issues related to crypto tax. It would encompass staking rewards, mining income, small crypto payments, wash sale provisions, and digital asset donations.
Legislators decided to pass the bills as separate as opposed to a massive bill consolidating the proposals. In case of disagreements regarding certain provisions, the strategy might enable some measures to be implemented without the others.
The six crypto tax proposals are:
Less Tax Paperwork for Digital Asset Owners Act (H.R. 9178)
Charitable Deductions for Digital Asset Donations Act (H.R. 9173)
Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act (H.R. 9175)
Providing Analogous Rules for Digital Assets Act (H.R. 9176)
Digital Assets Voluntary Disclosure Program Act (H.R. 9174)
Applying Existing Tax Anti-Abuse Rules to the Digital Assets Act (H.R. 9172)
For context, the Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act would determine the time at which mining and staking rewards become taxable. This topic has been a part of contentious debate in the crypto industry. It becomes especially relevant in bear markets when investors could be liable for taxes on tokens that have lost value due to a downturn.
Other Digital Asset Tax Proposals
Another new measure under close scrutiny is the Less Tax Paperwork for Digital Asset Owners Act. It aims to create a de minimis exemption for small crypto transactions. Even small transactions involving digital assets could lead to taxable capital gains events, per current guidelines.
The relief, if approved, would permit Americans to transact with cryptocurrencies in daily lives without having to figure out how to calculate the gains or losses from each transaction.
Other proposed changes include clarifying charitable deductions for digital assets. In addition, the proposals mention wash-sale rules for crypto assets. Further, a bill seeks to implement a voluntary disclosure program for taxpayers who may have had to change their reporting rules in the past for crypto assets.
The June 9 hearing will feature testimony from executives and policy representatives from the crypto industry. They include officials from Coinbase, Fidelity Investments, and Coin Center. Even Crypto Council and The Digital Chamber executives will join in.
In the meantime, the White House is also holding discussion on the CLARITY Act, which is also backed by crypto advisor Witt.
