Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers reintroduce the “Equality Act,” advance cryptocurrency tax reform, and urge the IRS to study tax-exemption mechanisms for small-value transactions

According to CoinDesk, U.S. bipartisan lawmakers Steven Horsford, Max Miller, Suzan DelBene, and Mike Carey jointly reintroduced the Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulation, Innovation, Taxation, and Yield Act (the “EQUAL Act”) on Wednesday. The revised bill primarily includes the following provisions: (1) specifying that regulated payment stablecoins generate no gain or loss if their cost basis is no less than 99% of their redemption value; (2) establishing a safe harbor for broker transactions or taxpayer account transactions; (3) clarifying how “wash sale” rules apply to digital assets; and (4) requiring the IRS to assess the current tax burden associated with small-value cryptocurrency transactions and study the feasibility—and potential for abuse—of introducing a tax exemption for transactions under $200. The crypto industry has long advocated for tax exemptions on small-value transactions to promote cryptocurrency adoption in everyday payment scenarios. Representative Horsford stated that tax policy forms the foundation of the crypto regulatory framework, and that current tax law remains silent on numerous core issues concerning digital assets.