Rep. Tom Emmer, One of the Most Active Crypto Congress Members, on Taxes and DeFi

House Representative Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, is one of the most active voice for crypto and blockchain in the US government. In this episode, he discusses:

• what book made Tom fall down the crypto rabbit hole 
• why Tom believes the Financial Accounting Standards Board needs to set clear accounting standards for cryptocurrencies
• why the current way of accounting for Bitcoin on balance sheets may be a detriment to companies in the future
• how he feels about the acting head of the OCC putting together a “sprint team” of federal regulators to establish overarching crypto standards
• why he is fighting to change tax rules for forked coins
• what problems the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act might solve
• why he is so passionate about the Securities Clarity Act, which would explicitly separate digital tokens from securities
• how DeFi should be regulated and why he is not a fan of FATF’s recently proposed guidance
• Tom’s prediction for when these bills may actually become law 

Thank you to our sponsors!

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NEAR: https://near.org 

Episode Links

Tom Emmer

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepTomEmmer 
• Website: https://emmer.house.gov/ 

Documents Mentioned

• FASB letter
  • https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-urges-fasb-to-issue-clear-accounting-standards-for-virtual-currencies
• Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2021/04/22/us-house-passes-bill-to-create-first-crypto-task-force-on-digital-assets/
• Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act
  • https://emmer.house.gov/2021/5/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-protect-taxpayers-with-digital-assets-pending-further-irs-guidance
• Securities Clarity Act
  • https://emmer.house.gov/2020/9/emmer-introduces-legislation-to-provide-clarity-for-digital-assets-under-securities-law
• Proposed FATF Guidance (quick breakdown)
  • https://www.coincenter.org/a-quick-analysis-of-fatfs-2021-draft-cryptocurrency-guidance/ 

Miscellaneous

• Congressional Blockchain Caucus
  • https://congressionalblockchaincaucus-schweikert.house.gov/members
• US Regulatory “sprint”
  • https://decrypt.co/71975/us-agencies-sprint-align-on-bitcoin-regulations 
• Michael Saylor episode
  • https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/
• Age of Cryptocurrency
  • https://www.amazon.com/The-Age-of-Cryptocurrency