The Biden administration recently re-introduced a proposed that would place a 30% tax on all “cryptocurrency miners” – a move that represents an ideological witch hunt against a rapidly growing industry (see my previous comments).
The move, part of the government’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year introduced in March, is in stark contrast to recent, pro-crypto statements from former President Donald Trump, who just this week called for the U.S. to dominate the bitcoin mining sector. It remains to be seen whether the crypto mining excise tax will come into effect (or whether Trump will deliver on his aggressive crypto policies if elected), though in recent weeks many have begun to argue that President Biden may be softening on the industry.
See also: Trump’s Appeal to Bitcoin Miners Is a Wakeup Call for Crypto to Stay Apolitical | Opinion
It has to be stated that implementing a blanket 30% federal tax on digital asset mining will kill the sector and wipe out billions of dollars of investor value in the United States, and very likely in Canada as well, given how the current Canadian federal administration closely follows U.S. precedents on regulation.
Taras Kulyk is founder and CEO of SunnySide Digital.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
In the “land of the free,” this type of heavy handed Stalinesque central planning directive screams in the face of the democratic ideals (ironically) that are supposed to be espoused by the current White House administration. First, they came for your digital mining and you did nothing…
The fine print on Biden’s proposed tax
The egregious mining tax, implemented despite the billions of dollars invested in the sector, is part of his budget proposal for the fiscal year 2025, which aims to address environmental concerns and regulate the digital asset mining industry. The proposal suggests that the tax would be phased in over three years, starting at 10% in the first year, increasing to 20% in the second year and reaching the full 30% in the third…
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