The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill that contains a controversial cryptocurrency tax reporting requirement.
The House voted in favor of the bill with at least 218 ayes late Friday night, fulfilling a key priority for the Biden administration amid controversy over whether an accompanying Democrat-led bill would also move forward.
The bill now goes to U.S. President Joe Biden for his signature.
The crypto industry was concerned about a tax reporting requirement within the bill that sought to expand the definition of a broker for IRS purposes. The reporting requirement would see all brokers report transactions under the current tax code.
Industry proponents worried that the definition would be too broad, capturing entities like miners and other parties that don’t actually facilitate transactions.
Pushback against the provision held up the bill’s passage in the Senate, where the infrastructure bill originated, giving the industry a chance to push for an amendment to modify the language. Ultimately, however, the Senate passed the bill without adopting any amendments, despite an 11th-hour effort to secure a change.
The Treasury Department still has to explain how it plans to interpret the bill, and publish guidance spelling out how businesses or other entities will have to comply with it.
