Crypto News
| Published On Sep 15, 2021 10:26 am CEST  |  Updated on Aug 3, 2023 12:25 pm CEST | By Peter Siu

U.S. House Democrats Aim to Close a Tax Loophole for Crypto

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A group of democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are proposing to treat digital assets like stocks rather than property to close an existing tax loophole for cryptocurrency investors.

Crypto transactions that are not profitable and lose money are allowed to be considered capital losses, which can then alleviate fiscal charges.

Since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) views digital assets as property, crypto investors can get a tax benefit from a capital loss and at the same time buy back the digital asset to take advantage on any price upswings.

On the other end, stocks and securities, are subject to a “wash sale” rule which does not allow taxpayers from claiming tax losses while still retaining an interest in the asset that contributed to the losses. It is not possible for investors to buy identical securities within 30 days and still deduct the losses from in their tax returns.

In a tax reform outline issued by the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrat lawmakers now propose treating digital assets, commodities, and currencies as equal under the “wash sale” provision. The Committee is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives.

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The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this change could bring in an additional $16.78 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 years.

According to Forbes, the proposed change would not keep crypto investors from adding “disallowed losses” of a wash sale to the cost basis of the digital asset they invested in.

Peter Siu

Peter is a former poker-pro, turned crypto enthusiast with 8+ years’ experience in operational roles dealing with all online gaming verticals within large iGaming companies, including Flutter and Entain. Now an expert in the field of Sports Betting, Casino, iGaming, and Poker, he is our team leader and editor. When not working, Peter can be found in the gym or playing sports like football, tennis and more recently padel.