Are US Lawmakers About to Give Crypto Companies an Undeserved Tax Break?

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Two honourable senators of these United States—Mrs. Lummis and Mr. Moreno—have addressed an exquisitely penned letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, entreating him to muster the full splendour of his influence. Their wish? That he might, with an air of benevolent authority, alter a particular clause that has cast a most disagreeable shadow over the taxation of corporate digital assets.

On the 12th of May, these esteemed senators delicately hinted (with all the subtlety of a grand ball announcement) that Mr. Bessent possesses power to refine the very definition of “adjusted financial statement income” as specified by the laws of the land. Such an alteration—oh scandalous!—could reduce the coins flowing from digital asset firms into the ever-eager hands of the taxman. This proposal is, ostensibly, a gracious nod toward amending the famed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a legislative concoction dear to many bureaucrats and loathed by accountants far and wide.

Senator Lummis, on the 13th of May (upon that modern assembly hall known as X), declared, “Our edge in digital finance is at risk if US companies are taxed more than foreign competitors.” One wonders: is our edge so very sharp as to be dulled by a mere fifteen percent?

According to this formidable duo, their proposed amendment would bring “relief”—forlorn word!—to those brave corporations dabbling in the tempestuous waters of digital assets. Mrs. Lummis is notorious in Congress for her fondness of all matters cryptographic, while Mr. Moreno, having freshly unpacked his trunks in Washington, was, it seems, wafted to office upon a breeze most generously lubricated by $40 million of crypto-funded campaign cheer. Truly, transparency sparkles like a diamond in the digital age. 💰💨

The virtuous (or villainous, depending on one’s interest in crypto) Inflation Reduction Act, since its emergence in 2023, lays a minimum 15% tax upon any company fortunate or reckless enough to report more than $1 billion in profits for three consecutive years. The catch? Even those fickle unrealised crypto gains and losses must enter the taxman’s ledger. Lummis and Moreno—never ones to let a digital dollar slip by unnoticed—implore the Treasury to “act swiftly,” as if taxation is a carriage at risk of missing the last coach to Bath. 🏇

Senate awaiting second vote on stablecoin bill

As the curtain rises for the next Senate act, lawmakers are primed to revisit the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, affectionately dubbed the GENIUS Act (oh, how the acronyms do sparkle!). This bill promises to shepherd payment stablecoins into the bosom of gentle regulation—should it ever escape the quicksand of party politics. The previous attempt on May 8th, alas, was thwarted by Democratic suspicion of Mr. Trump’s crypto romances. One can only imagine the drawing room conversations that must have ensued.🫖

Mrs. Lummis, ever indefatigable, remains a zealous patroness of digital innovation and regulation, vowing to continue her advocacy. The Senate may yet take up this matter again very shortly; Independence Hall watches on with bated breath, its paintings surely suppressing a snicker or two at humanity’s ceaseless quarrels over invisible coins.

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2025-05-14 02:24