INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The two groups of senators who were battling over how to word a section of the infrastructure bill that would impose new tax rules for
cryptocurrencies say they are nearing a compromise, but the deal may come too late to get added to the Senate's infrastructure bill.An
agreement would resolve a days-long dispute that pitted the White House against Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden over the best
way to require cryptocurrency entities to report transactions to the IRS.Wyden, along with Republican Senators Pat Toomey and Cynthia
Lummis, had offered one approach that had the support of the cryptocurrency industry
A competing amendment, sponsored by Republican Senator Rob Portman and Democrats Mark Warner and Kyrsten Sinema, was the White House's
preferred option."We are still talking," Wyden said, declining to discuss what issues still are unsettled.The last minute frenzy to reach a
deal may prove to be fruitless if the senators are unable to get the amendment called up for a vote
The Senate has been deadlocked for days over addressing more changes to the bill because of disputes between lawmakers about which
amendments to consider and how long to continue debating
Any single senator can block an amendment from getting a vote."I don't know if they will allow, the floor managers and the leadership, will
allow us to offer our amendment in the second 30 hours, but we're going to find out," Lummis told reporters Sunday, referring to a 30-hour
debate time period beginning Sunday night before the lawmakers will vote on final passage of the infrastructure bill.The 30-hour period in
which the amendment would need to get a vote is set to expire early Tuesday morning, though lawmakers could unanimously agree to cut off
debate earlier.If a compromise can't be reached or an amendment doesn't get a vote, the original language in the legislation, would remain
The provision has been criticized by cryptocurrency investors and Twitter Inc
chief executive office Jack Dorsey for being overly broad and requiring some crypto-related businesses -- like miners or software developers
-- to report to tax collectors data that they don't have access to.However the legislation still has to clear the House, which can make
changes in whatever ultimately passes the Senate this week
That would give lawmakers another chance to modify the provision.Lummis said the deal under discussion refines the definition of crypto
brokers required to report transactions and specifically exempts some entities from the reporting rules
The compromise would also address some concerns that the language would give preference to the crypto mining activities that are least
climate-friendly because they use the most energy, she said.Warner said the Treasury Department had been involved in the drafting of the
latest amendment, a signal that the new wording will have the backing of the White House.The issue has been a rare spot of bipartisan
attention and agreements with both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats interested in finding ways to create more oversight of
the new technology."The idea behind the amendment in the bipartisan deal is simply to level the playing field on reporting," Senator
Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Sunday
"It's not a direct tax on crypto, it's simply a reporting requirement that's in place everywhere else
That seems like the right approach."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published
