Today, on the second day of the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, senator Cynthia Lummis spoke about the Bitcoin future in the USA and president Biden's proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency miners for fiscal year 2024. Unlike the president, the Wyoming Republican sees environmental benefits in Bitcoin, which relies on an energy-intensive proof-of-work protocol. According to Lummis, some of the advantages are "not venting gases into the atmosphere as well as stabilizing grids."
The senator also believes that "Bitcoin is so consistent with American values that we need to make sure it is protected, nurtured, and allowed to prosper in the United States."
Read also: US presidential aspirant opposes Biden's 30% crypto mining tax proposal
The tax proposal put forward by Biden in March aims to address Bitcoin’s impact on the natural environment, as well as electricity costs for residents of areas where cryptocurrency miners are located.
"Crypto mining firms do not have to pay for the full cost they impose on others, in the form of local environmental pollution, higher energy prices, and the impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions on the climate. The DAME tax encourages firms to start taking better account of the harm they impose on society," the White House blog post on the tax proposal reads.
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At the conference, Lummis assured the crypto community that the president’s plan for the tax "is not going to happen."
The senator plans to work with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to reintroduce a bipartisan bill called the Responsible Innovation Act, which was first introduced last year. The bill aims to create a legal framework for blockchain technology and digital assets.
The bill includes sections on responsible taxation of digital assets, responsible securities, commodities, payment and banking innovation, responsible consumer protection, and responsible interagency coordination.
One of the key points of the act is to classify Bitcoin and many other digital assets as commodities under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, allow stablecoins to be issued under strict guidelines, and clarify taxes on crypto users and miners.
Read also: Freshly released draft of Lummis bill jeopardizes TRON’s stablecoin
In early May, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a presidential candidate for the 2024 US elections who is the Bitcoin 2023 keynote speaker this year, also expressed his disagreement with the president’s stance.
"Yes, energy use is a concern ( though somewhat overstated ), but Bitcoin mining uses about the same as video games, and no one is calling for a ban on those. The environmental argument is a selective pretext to suppress anything that threatens elite power structures. Bitcoin, for example," Kennedy wrote in a tweet.
