Simplified Taxation of Fork Coins Bill Re-Submitted to US Congress

One of the supporters of cryptocurrencies in the US Congress has reintroduced a bill protecting taxpayers from penalties for non-payment of taxes on coins obtained as a result of forks.

Congressman Tom Emmer first introduced the Taxpayer Safe Harbor Act for forked coins in 2018 and again in 2019. Previous versions of the bill were not approved by lawmakers, but Tom Emmer does not give up trying and for the third time submitted the document to the US Congress.

In an October 2019 guide, the IRS stated that the new cryptocurrency generated by hard forks would be treated as taxable income. The IRS decision follows a letter earlier that year from Emmer and other lawmakers asking the agency to clarify cryptocurrency policies.

In a press release on Monday, Emmer said the latest IRS leadership “unfairly punished” those who invest in new technologies and added that “the IRS leadership is not pragmatic.”

Although the IRS does require taxes on fork coins, other US agencies do not always take them into account. According to a November report from Coinfirm, law enforcement officials ignore many of the forked coins when confiscating bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies from criminals.

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