The IRS sparked a storm of controversy when it released proposed new rules for crypto transaction reporting earlier this year. The new rules seek to define who is considered a broker, what types of transactions need to get reported, and the kinds of digital assets that need to be included, but many in the industry consider them overly broad and ultimately unworkable.
Lawrence Zlatkin, VP of Tax at Coinbase, and Shehan Chandrasekera, Head of Tax Strategy at tax software firm CoinTracker, discuss the crypto industry’s specific objections to the proposed new rules, and what might be a better way forward. They also delve into how the regulations would apply to stablecoins and NFTs, potential blockchain-based solutions for the reporting requirements, and what the likely outlook and timeline for the proposals to come into effect are.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
- What the newly proposed IRS regulations around crypto are and when they are likely to go into effect
- what entities qualify as a broker and why this may pose a problem
- what the implications for the industry are if these regulations were passed
- the number of additional reports the IRS is expecting to receive if these regulations are adopted
- how the regulations would apply to stablecoins and NFTs
- what the five types of brokers are under the proposed regulations and the three types that they exclude, according to Shehan
- the unprecedented amount of comments submitted
- what suggestions Coinbase and CoinTracker have in mind for better tax regulation
- why Lawrence thinks that DeFi exchanges should be treated the same as centralized ones
- whether people should have privacy concerns about the new proposals
- what some blockchain-based solutions for tax reporting are, such as attestation tokens
- what the next steps for the IRS proposed regulation are
- how long it will take to actually implement these regulations
Thank you to our sponsors!
Guests:
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on crypto taxes, with appearances from Shehan and Lawrence:
Proposed rule:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
