By Earlier this week we reported on the fact that a group of UK lawmakers has called for greater oversight within the cryptocurrency arena. More recently a group of US lawmakers has subsequently called upon that famous agency we’ve heard pop up in films countless times, that’s right folks, the IRS, more affectionately known as the Internal Revenue Service.
These lawmakers have called for the IRS to create and release more comprehensive guidelines for taxpayers who are reeling in profits through cryptocurrency investments and transactions.
Lawmakers Open Letter To The IRS
It was David Kautter, who is currently acting IRS commissioner who received an open letter from representatives Kevin Brady, Lynn Jenkins, David Schweikert, Darin LaHood and Brad Wenstrup who called out the agency by saying they’ve had “”more than adequate” time to create concise rules on how digital currencies would be taxed.
Of course, the IRS has opted to make use of enforcement action around a set of preliminary rules released back as far as four years ago in 2014 instead of releasing guidelines, the letter claims. The letter also makes use of examples whereby the IRS in the past has pushed to collect data around earnings made by customers by way of collating data from Coinbase. They also cited a previous letter that was sent to the IRS last year:
“We, therefore, write again today to strongly urge the IRS to issue updated guidance, providing additional clarity for taxpayers seeking to better understand and comply with their tax obligations when using virtual currencies,”
The lawmakers went on to add that “its a key component of the agencies duties to provide adequate guidance to the average consumer:
“We are concerned that the IRS is seeking to enforce guidelines that do not adequately advise taxpayers of their tax obligations when using virtual currencies.”
IRS To Provide Necessary Guidelines?
They also went on to argue that if the IRS fails to provide the necessary guidelines that it could “severely hinder” taxpayers abilities to comply with basic tax obligations. In a nutshell, if you don’t outline rules correctly, how do taxpayers know what’s wrong and what’s right? 
Kevin Brady sits on the chair at The House Committee on Ways and Means. They are set to also ask the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full audit on this matter as per the letter’s contents.
Coin Center, a noteworthy crypto advocacy recently praised the letter in a blog post with Neeraj Agrawal. The group’s communications director stated that “currently, a user needs to calculate capital gains on every stick of gum they buy with cryptocurrency.”
It just doesn’t make sense, does it? Neeraj wrote:
“We are glad to see Congress take action – there are clearly many open questions surrounding taxation of cryptocurrencies. It’s promising to see members of Congress step up to call for a more welcoming environment for these new technologies.”
Do you believe that a clear set of rules and regulations are needed for taxpayers to oblige with IRS laws? Let us know your thoughts.
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