US Congressman introducing bill to classify cryptos as currency not property

US congressman Steve Stockton of Texas has revealed that he plans to introduce the very first cryptocurrency related bill.

The “Virtual Currency Tax Reform Act” intends to see cryptocurrencies reclassified as actual currencies, rather than as property — a decision that was announced by the IRS within the last couple of weeks.

Users have expressed their disappointment at this decision as it causes a lot of issues for anybody dealing in virtual currency, as they would be required to keep records of fluctuating coin values in order to report and pay capital gains tax on the period for which they were holding them.

Congressman Stockton comments:

This is a nascent industry. Along with 3-D printers and nanotubes, cryptocurrency is the future. We need to encourage it, not discourage it. There is risk associated with every budding industry in America.

If it succeds, the bill will overturn this recent IRS decision. A decision which, in my opinion, is a rather silly one for the IRS; they should be making it as easy as possible for users to pay taxes on crytocurrency transactions if they wish for people to remain in compliance.

Image credit: Forbes