Crypto firms will report transactions over $10,000 to the IRS under proposed tax push to help fund the US infrastructure plan

• A crypto tax crackdown will help fund a $550 billion infrastructure plan agreed by US lawmakers Wednesday.
• Businesses would report crypto transactions over $10,000 to the IRS under the proposed bill, reports said.
• The bill also calls for crypto brokerages and exchanges to face heightened reporting of transactions of all digital assets.

Crypto businesses will report transactions above $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service under proposed crypto tax regulations that aim to raise funds to finance the US infrastructure plan.

A bipartisan deal agreed by senators and President Biden late Wednesday put forward the measures to step up tax enforcement around digital assets, a last-minute addition to the infrastructure bill.

The tightened regulations could bring in as much as $28 billion to offset parts of the $550 billion infrastructure deal, Bloomberg reported. The proposed measures call for crypto brokerages and exchanges to face heightened reporting requirements for transactions of all digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, and businesses would have to give details on transactions of $10,000 or more to the IRS, the report said.

The text of the infrastructure bill has not been released, but in a factsheet published Wednesday, the White House noted that a crackdown on cryptocurrency will be part of its strategy to raise money to pay for the spending involved.

"It is financed through a combination of redirecting unspent emergency relief funds, targeted corporate user fees, strengthening tax enforcement when it comes to crypto currencies, and other bipartisan measures, in addition to the revenue generated from higher economic growth as a result of the investments," the White House said.

Both sides of the aisle have been pushing for new crypto-tax measures after trading in cryptocurrencies took off over the past year. The price of the biggest digital currency, bitcoin, has risen about 267% over the past 12 months to stand at about $39,971 on Wednesday.

The debate has centered on rules for reporting trading and for taxation of digital assets.

"Everybody's been talking about the appropriate way to provide more reporting in particular, and that leads to better compliance," said Rob Portman, Republican senator for Ohio, according to the Bloomberg report.

Earlier this year, the US Treasury Department pushed for crypto transfers above $10,000 to be reported to the IRS, in the same way cash transactions above that threshold are. Last week, Treasury Secretary Yellen called for tighter regulation of stablecoins.

Under current IRS guidelines, digital currencies are treated as assets, and US citizens are obliged to report the proceeds of trading under the capital gains tax framework. Enforcement has proved to be difficult due to a lack of relevant rules.

Hours after the bipartisan deal was struck, and the crypto tax regulation was added, the Senate voted to begin considering the bill. It foresees spending $550 billion on US infrastructure over the next eight years on roads and bridges, high-speed internet, public transport, electric vehicles, airports and shipping ports, among other areas.