House Committee Prepares Crypto Tax Bill Markup Amid Calls for Simplification

The US House Ways and Means Committee is gearing up to review a package of bills aimed at overhauling how the IRS treats digital assets. The committee held a legislative hearing on June 9, where Chairman Jason Smith steered the panel through a review of several bills.

Two key bills stand out: H.R. 9178 and H.R. 9175. The first aims to reduce paperwork for small transactions made with digital assets like Bitcoin, while the second would allow recipients of staking rewards to defer tax payments until they receive their rewards in cash or other liquid assets.

The broader package seeks to bring parity to traditional financial rules by not taxing digital assets more harshly than equivalent instruments in traditional finance. Industry groups are supporting key provisions related to mining and staking without changes, according to Chairman Smith.