U.S. House Committee Advances Digital Asset Tax Certainty Bill

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee completed its review of the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) and voted 38-5 to send the amended text to the full House. According to Foresight News, two amendments proposed by Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett failed during the review. One amendment on 1099 reporting obligations for non-custodial and DeFi platforms was rejected 12-28, while another calling for a study of the electricity and environmental impact of crypto mining was rejected 16-25. The bill was introduced by Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith on September 14. It would exempt certain on-chain network fees under $10 from tax treatment, except for taxpayers who made more than 5,000 transfers in the previous year. It would also extend wash sale and constructive sale rules to digital assets, exempt qualified U.S. dollar stablecoins, clarify the tax treatment and source of mining and staking income, and include provisions on broker reporting, lending transfers, and stablecoin simplification. The measure still needs approval from the full House and Senate, followed by the president's signature, before becoming law. The House is set to recess later this week until after the midterm elections, and no floor schedule has been set.