Crypto language in infrastructure bill is a political game, says Cointelegraph GC

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Zachary Kelman, general counsel for Cointelegraph, said the political fight over the tax implications of crypto in the U.S. infrastructure bill is not new, as it likely relates to how lawmakers plan to pay everything.

In an interview with Cointelegraph’s Jackson DuMont, Kelman claimed that senators pushing crypto language into the infrastructure bill that was ultimately passed by the House of Representatives after a senator opposed an amendment clarification may have been more influenced by political concerns than those potentially affecting the crypto space. Namely, the attorney general asserted that lawmakers know that crypto companies cannot actually agree to the proposed tax reporting requirements, but need the language to essentially convince senators anxious to foot the bill.

According to Kelman, Republicans and moderate Democrats can support the bill, but want the language to contain a provision to fund some of the proposed major roads, bridges and infrastructure projects without having to raise taxes.

This rule, as well as many other rules, concerns the application. This is without having to say that we’re going to raise the rate of capitalization gains, we are going to raise the corporate tax rates, which sends the wrong signal to the market, Kelman said. They sort of say, this money is out there in the crypto land […] and that we are going to find new ways to capture that tax revenue.

He added:

It’s a bit of a role-playing game to show them, look, we’re going to be able to pay for this.

Related: Treasure to the Rescue? Officials clarify crypto tax reporting rules in infrastructure bill: report

The infrastructure bill, HR 3684, was passed by the Senate in a 69-30 vote on August 10. Notably, despite the absence of an amendment clarifying the crypto language in the bill, four of the senators pushed for such clarification Rob Portman, Mark Warner, Kyrsten Sinema and Ron Wyden all voted in favor of the agreement, only Pat Toomey and Cynthia Lummis voting “no”. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives, where it will likely not be voted on until later this year.

Watch Zachary Kelman’s full interview on Cointelegraph’s YouTube channel here.

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