Cornell research links $300 Bitcoin tax exemption to $860M boost for US Treasury

Buying a coffee with Bitcoin currently requires you to calculate the capital gain or loss on the fraction of a coin you spent, report it to the IRS, and pray you didn’t mess up the cost basis. Cornell research suggests there’s a better way, and it would actually make the government money. The study finds that a $300 de minimis tax exemption on personal crypto transactions could generate roughly $860 million in additional revenue for the US Treasury. The logic is counterintuitive but straightforward: remove the compliance headache on small purchases, more people actually spend crypto, and the resulting economic activity creates a larger tax base overall. How losing revenue generates revenue Under current IRS rules, digital assets are classified as property. Every single transaction, whether it’s a $5 energy drink or a $50K car, triggers a capital gains calculation. You need to know what you paid for that slice of Bitcoin, what it was worth when you spent it, and the difference between the two. The proposed exemption, championed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, would let individuals skip the capital gains reporting on personal crypto transactions of $300 or less. Her bill also includes a $...