The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing next week to examine how digital assets should be taxed, following the White House’s July report on crypto.
The session, scheduled for Wednesday, will be chaired by Committee head Mike Crapo. Testifying will be Coinbase’s vice president of tax, Lawrence Zlatkin, and Coin Center’s policy director, Jason Somensatto, according to the notice released Wednesday.
The hearing ties into recommendations from the White House Digital Asset Working Group, which urged lawmakers to formally recognize crypto as a distinct asset class and adapt existing tax rules, originally designed for securities and commodities, to fit digital assets.
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If Congress does not pass new legislation, the report advised the Treasury Department and the IRS to issue guidance clarifying key issues, such as how stablecoin payments should be taxed and how to treat small amounts of crypto from mining, staking, or airdrops.
Currently, the IRS treats cryptocurrencies and NFTs as property, not currency. This means that selling or transferring them at a profit counts as a taxable capital gains event.
Lummis Pushes Back on Double Taxation of Crypto Rewards
Senator Cynthia Lummis has criticized what she calls the “unfair tax treatment” of crypto miners and stakers, noting they face taxation twice, once when they receive block rewards and again when those rewards are sold.
“It’s time to stop this unfair tax treatment and ensure America is the world’s Bitcoin and Crypto Superpower,”
Cynthia Lummis
In early July, she attempted to include a provision to fix the issue in Trump’s budget reconciliation bill. However, the measure was not part of the amendments that reached the Senate floor before the legislation was ultimately passed.
