US May Exempt Crypto Transactions Under $50 From Taxes Under New Bipartisan Bill

In a bid to allow Americans to use cryptocurrencies with ease, US senators have proposed to bring in some relaxation in crypto taxes. A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Senate that allows tax exemption for crypto transactions under $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000), done for personal uses like paying for goods and services. The name of this bill is the “Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act”. Senators Pat Toomey and Kyrsten Sinema are behind this bill, which is aimed at simplifying the use of cryptocurrencies.

In the US, crypto is identified as a property, and not a currency. US' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) imposes a tax reportedly between 10 to 20 percent on crypto transactions in the US.

As per Senator Toomey, this system obstructs the ease with which cryptocurrencies can be used by people on a daily basis.

“The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act would simplify the use of digital assets for everyday transactions by creating a sensible de minimis exemption for gains of less than $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000) on personal transactions and for personal transactions under $50,” the text of the bill said.

US is currently witnessing an overall rise in crypto adoption.

In June, a survey by Deloitte had said over 75 percent retailers in the US are interested in adopting stablecoins as legitimate payment alternatives to dollar and cards. Deloitte had polled over 2,000 senior members of retail organisations for this survey.

The interest of consumers in the crypto sector has been cited as the main reason why retail merchants in the US are looking to add the option of crypto payments.

The revenue results seen by crypto-friendly movie hall chain in the US, the AMC Theatres is a testimony to the favouritism that cryptocurrencies have garnered in the country.

During its earnings call in May, AMC Theatres chief Adam Aron had announced that the first quarter of this year witnessed a growth in revenue that has touched $785 million (roughly Rs. 6,066 crore) in the first quarter of this year.

Crypto transactions made for 35 percent of the total online payments for AMC Theatres. This data is for the first three months of this year, January to March. The theatre chain allows people to pay for select purchases in crypto assets. These include Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

In recent times, several big brands based in the US have already began experimenting with crypto payments.

Several restaurants like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Crypto Street Restaurant, as well as luxury brands such as Swiss watch-maker Tag Heuer, and Italian apparel label Gucci and French luxury label Balenciaga, have opened crypto payments in the US.

Payment service providers like PayPal in the US are also integrating crypto services to their working models, in order to cater to different kinds of customers.

The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act shall apply to crypto transactions after December 31, 2022, the Senate document noted.