A bill to revise the rules of construction applicable to information reporting requirements imposed on brokers with respect to digital assets, and for other purposes.
Bill: S.3249 | Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron (D-OR)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
This bill excludes certain persons from being considered a broker for tax reporting purposes. Under current law, the transfer of digital assets from a broker to a nonbroker requires the broker to file a return beginning on January 1, 2024. The bill provides that a broker does not include any person solely engaged in the business of (1) validating distributed ledger transactions, (2) selling hardware or software for which the sole function is to permit access to digital assets on a distributed ledger, or (3) developing digital assets or protocols for use by other persons who are not customers.

To revise the rules of construction applicable to information reporting 
requirements imposed on brokers with respect to digital assets, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION APPLICABLE TO INFORMATION REPORTING 
              REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED ON BROKERS WITH RESPECT TO DIGITAL 
              ASSETS.

    (a) In General.--Section 80603 of the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--
            ``(1) Definition of broker.--Nothing in this section or the 
        amendments made by this section shall be construed to create 
        any inference that a person described in section 6045(c)(1)(D) 
        of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this section, 
        includes any person solely engaged in the business of--
                    ``(A) validating distributed ledger transactions,
                    ``(B) selling hardware or software for which the 
                sole function is to permit a person to control private 
                keys which are used for accessing digital assets on a 
                distributed ledger, or
                    ``(C) developing digital assets or their 
                corresponding protocols for use by other persons, 
                provided that such other persons are not customers of 
                the person developing such assets or protocols.
            ``(2) Brokers and treatment of digital assets.--Nothing in 
        this section or the amendments made by this section shall be 
        construed to create any inference, for any period prior to the 
        effective date of such amendments, with respect to--
                    ``(A) whether any person is a broker under section 
                6045(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or
                    ``(B) whether any digital asset is property which 
                is a specified security under section 6045(g)(3)(B) of 
                such Code.
    ``(e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that nothing 
in the amendments made by this section shall be construed to have any 
effect on the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) or the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of section 80603 of the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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