Blockchain Association Opposes IRS Broker Rule

The Blockchain Association, a blockchain advocacy group, opposes the broker rules proposed by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), stating that these regulations will impose an excessive burden on investors, cryptocurrency companies, and the IRS itself. The association cited the Paperwork Reduction Act, which states that government regulatory agencies should not impose unnecessary paperwork requirements on individuals and entities in the financial system. The letter stated that if these rules are passed, it will increase 8 billion tax forms, waste 4 billion hours of processing time, and result in an annual compliance cost of 254 billion US dollars. In contrast, the IRS earlier estimated a total compliance cost of 136 million US dollars for the new regulations. In addition, the association believes that an annual compliance cost of 245 billion US dollars is unreasonable for a market that generates a maximum tax revenue shortfall of 10 billion US dollars. In 2023, the association submitted a 39-page letter detailing its comprehensive opposition to these regulations, believing that these rules are extremely difficult to comply with for decentralized financial protocols and reflect the government's misunderstanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency.