U.S. IRS Chief Requests More Power To Collect Crypto Transfer Data

U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Retting told Congress that the authority needs more permission to collect cryptocurrency transfer data, Reuters reported Tuesday. 

The IRS Chief gave testimony on Tuesday, requesting Congress to authorise more power by providing apparent statutory authority to tax agency to access data on cryptocurrency transfer over $10,000 that mostly underreported.

"I think we need congressional authority," Rettig said in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee. "We get challenged frequently, and to have a clear dictate from Congress on the authority for us to collect that information is critical." The IRS Chief further explained.

Rettig said that the market capitalisation on crypto is over $2 trillion and more than 8,600 exchanges worldwide, arguing that expanding the cryptocurrency’s markets might become a loophole of tax evasion if there is no proper supervision.

According to Forbes’s coverage, IRS requests a $32 million budget for the next fiscal year so that the authority can execute duties by strengthening crypto tax enforcement. That includes $23M for recruitment on the increasing workforce, $6M on equipment upgrade and $3M on IT specialist compensation. The authority expects the proposal to cover more recruitment to hire more specialists to deal with crypto affairs and cybersecurity; 2) establish internal crypto or blockchain analytics dashboard called STR and other related duties.

President Joe Biden’s administration proposed early to conduct tax enforcement reform, targeting the volatility of the crypto-asset market, including an obligation to report to IRS for any crypto transaction over $10,000. The proposal would start in 2023.