Bill to Change IRS Ruling on Bitcoin

04/10/2014 • Next News Network

At the end of March, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that Bitcoin will be taxed as an asset not a currency - however Congressman Steve Stockman intends to change that. The Congressman was in New York City to announce his plan to introduce the first piece of U.S. legislation on virtual currencies.. The Virtual Currency Tax Reform Act would authorize the Internal Revenue Service to treat virtual currencies as currency for federal tax purposes. The Bill would shift the current IRS ruling labeling Bitcoin as 'currency' rather than 'property'. Opponents have argued that this tax undermines the cryptocurrency's goal of becoming a medium of exchange, because it would render any anti-inflationary gains from Bitcoin over the U.S. dollar as non-existent. Cryptocurrency is a relatively new form of digital/virtual currency that began trading in 2009. Stockman --- who months ago became the first politician to accept Bitcoin donations toward his Senate campaign --- revealed a cop