Why the Crypto Industry Is So Upset About the IRS’ Proposed New Tax Reporting Rules - Ep. 575

Episode • Nov 28, 2023 • 57m

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:

Shehan Chandrasekera, Head of Tax Strategy at CoinTracker
Lawrence Zlatkin, VP of Tax at Coinbase

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

Activity

Switch to the Fountain App

Open in Fountain