US Senator Urges Congress to Stop Treasury From Picking Winners and Losers in Crypto

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey has called on Congress to stop the Treasury Department from maximizing its ability to regulate and tax crypto by picking winners and losers. “Congress should not allow that to happen,” he said.

US Senator Urges Lawmakers Not to Crush Crypto Innovation

Following the endorsement of a crypto tax amendment by the White House, concerns have been raised that the U.S. government is picking winners and losers in the crypto space.

Two crypto tax amendments to the $1 trillion infrastructure bill have been introduced but the White House has chosen to endorse the one that favors proof-of-work over all other consensus mechanisms, including proof-of-stake.

Senator Pat Toomey is one of the sponsors of the amendment that is not endorsed by the Biden administration but has gained support within the crypto community. He tweeted Friday:

While I appreciate that my colleagues and the White House have acknowledged their original crypto tax had flaws, the Warner-Portman amendment picks winners and losers based on the type of technology employed. That’s horrible for innovation.

“The Warner-Portman plan exempts bitcoin miners, but not other transaction validators or software developers who create these platforms,” Toomey added. “What does that mean? Two identical services could receive dramatically different regulatory treatment depending on the technology used.”

The senator elaborated:

US Treasury wants maximum flexibility to regulate and tax crypto as they see fit. Congress should not allow that to happen.

“Now isn’t the time for the IRS to pick winners and losers with a new technology. Crypto has the potential to be the future of the internet,” he further opined. “How foolish to crush it over a tax provision that possibly raises just $500 million per year more in a $1.2 trillion bill.”

Senator Toomey added that “The first principle here should be: do no harm,” noting that “The Warner-Portman-Sinema amendment will drive developers to create software outside of the U.S.”

He proceeded to urge lawmakers not to rush to impose regulations and “get it wrong,” calling for a full public debate to protect American innovation “before potentially disruptive changes are made that push crypto overseas.”