Today, on Crypto, US lawmakers considered changing Crypto tax rules. Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, asked the judge to dismiss his conviction, and the White House withdrew Brian Quintz’s appointment and chaired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
As government shutdowns, US lawmakers are working on crypto tax policy
The US lawmaker discussed crypto tax policy during a Senate committee on the financial hearing on Wednesday. This included the possibility of tax exemption for crypto transactions below certain thresholds and how revenue from staking services should be categorized.
Lawrence Zlatkin, vice president of taxation at Crypto Exchange Coinbase, urged the Senate committee to consider tax exemptions for cryptocurrency transactions under $300 to encourage commercial use of payments and enable innovation within the United States. Zlatkin said:
“The principle of guidance is simple parity with traditional finances. The same tax rules should apply to the same economic activity, including blockchain goods, stocks and tokens. There is no parity at present.
Lawmakers also tackled ways to enforce closer reporting requirements for cryptocurrency transactions, minimise tax exemptions, and close the annual tax gap of around $700 billion, potentially classifying revenues from income as taxable income under a layered income tax system.
Tax policies are a major question for businesses that remain uncertain about the impact of cryptocurrency users, industry executives, and activities, and for whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will punish them for their involvement in the digital economy.
Rome Storm seeks to be acquitted of tornado cash transmission fees
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, asked a US federal judge to acquittal of the sole conviction for unlicensed money transfer, asking the ju-degree hang count to count for money laundering and sanctions violations, claiming that the prosecutors had not proven to help the bad actors misuse the encrypted mixed party.
According to legal documents filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 30 and reviewed by Cointelgraf, Storm’s defense attorneys allegedly failed to prove that the prosecutor intended to help bad actors use tornado cash. This would, according to the defense, nullify the basis of his beliefs based on negligence omission.
“The argument was that Storm and the bad actors knew they were using tornado cash and were unable to take sufficient steps to stop them. This is a theory of negligence,” the move states.
The defense further argued that “there is a lack of positive evidence that Mr Storm acted with the intention of supporting a bad actor,” and the government sought to address the deliberate burden by claiming that the defendant could not prevent misuse. “It’s an argument that opposes intentional standards and is not supported by the law,” the motion states.
The claim of acquittal asks the judge to abandon the charges or verdict, as the prosecutor’s evidence, even true, is legally insufficient.
The White House withdraws Brian Quintz as CFTC nominee
The White House retracted Brian Quintentz’s appointment to head the Commodity Futures Trade Commission on Tuesday, and Quintenz told the Cointelegraph that he will return to the private sector.
“It was an honor of my life to be nominated for CFTC Chairman and go through the confirmation process,” Quintenz told Cointelegraph, confirming his previous report that his appointment had been drawn out.
“I thank the President for that opportunity and thank the Senate Agriculture Committee for its consideration and I look forward to returning to my private sector efforts at this exciting time for innovation in our country,” he added.
Quintenz is a former CFTC Commissioner and head of A16Z’s Crypto Policy. Although he was widely supported by the crypto industry, his appointment faced a delay in Congress and reported pushbacks from Cryptocurrency Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The CFTC is set up to be the leading regulator of cryptography under the Trump administration, but has not had a chairman for almost a year and is led solely by the chairman of Caroline Femme.
