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Trump signs bill blocking DeFi crypto tax rule Biden pushed

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President Donald Trump signed legislation to block an Internal Revenue Service rule that would have forced some cryptocurrency brokers to provide tax information on transactions conducted on their platforms, delivering another victory to the digital asset industry he has vowed to champion in office.

The IRS reporting rule — not yet in force — was due to take effect in 2026, but it had already sparked furious opposition from the crypto industry. The regulation required certain decentralized exchanges to report their customers’ gross sales of digital assets to the IRS. 

Crypto industry advocates argued that decentralized exchanges can’t be defined as brokers or comply with the rule because they are typically automated and run by software applications, rather than individuals. These exchanges use blockchain technology to directly connect crypto buyers and sellers without the need for an intermediary to hold users’ tokens.

It was finalized at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, making it vulnerable to a Congressional Review Act challenge that gives lawmakers 60 days to “disapprove” of a regulation issued by a federal agency. 

The regulations were intended to help curb the amount of unpaid taxes on crypto transactions, with some estimates saying that at least half of the levies owed on digital asset trades go uncollected. The congressional tax scorekeeper estimates that nearly $4 billion in levies over the course of a decade won’t be paid as a result of repealing the rule.

The Republican-controlled Congress passed the resolution reversing the rule with significant bipartisan support in both chambers in March.

Lawmakers are seeking to advance several other crypto priorities while Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, including legislation to create a regulatory framework for stablecoin payments and codify the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and US digital asset stockpile.

Trump has vowed to bolster the crypto industry by easing regulatory constraints, elevating crypto-friendly officials and hosting industry executives at the White House. His commitment to the industry marks a change for a president who was previously skeptical about digital assets but embraced them during the 2024 election as crypto companies donated to his campaign.

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Accounting

Acting IRS commissioner reportedly replaced

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Gary Shapley, who was named only days ago as the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, is reportedly being replaced by Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender amid a power struggle between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk.

The New York Times reported that Bessent was outraged that Shapley was named to head the IRS without his knowledge or approval and complained to President Trump about it. Shapley was installed as acting commissioner on Tuesday, only to be ousted on Friday. He first gained prominence as an IRS Criminal Investigation special agent and whistleblower who testified in 2023 before the House Oversight Committee that then-President Joe Biden’s son Hunter received preferential treatment during a tax-evasion investigation, and he and another special agent had been removed from the investigation after complaining to their supervisors in 2022. He was promoted last month to senior advisor to Bessent and made deputy chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. Shapley is expected to remain now as a senior official at IRS Criminal Investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The IRS and the Treasury Department press offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Faulkender was confirmed last month as deputy secretary at the Treasury Department and formerly worked during the first Trump administration at the Treasury on the Paycheck Protection Program before leaving to teach finance at the University of Maryland.

Faulkender will be the fifth head of the IRS this year. Former IRS commissioner Danny Werfel departed in January, on Inauguration Day, after Trump announced in December he planned to name former Congressman Billy Long, R-Missouri, as the next IRS commissioner, even though Werfel’s term wasn’t scheduled to end until November 2027. The Senate has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Long, amid questions from Senate Democrats about his work promoting the Employee Retention Credit and so-called “tribal tax credits.” The job of acting commissioner has since been filled by Douglas O’Donnell, who was deputy commissioner under Werfel. However, O’Donnell abruptly retired as the IRS came under pressure to lay off thousands of employees and share access to confidential taxpayer data. He was replaced by IRS chief operating officer Melanie Krause, who resigned last week after coming under similar pressure to provide taxpayer data to immigration authorities and employees of the Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service. 

Krause had planned to depart later this month under the deferred resignation program at the IRS, under which approximately 22,000 IRS employees have accepted the voluntary buyout offers. But Musk reportedly pushed to have Shapley installed on Tuesday, according to the Times, and he remained working in the commissioner’s office as recently as Friday morning. Meanwhile, plans are underway for further reductions in the IRS workforce of up to 40%, according to the Federal News Network, taking the IRS from approximately 102,000 employees at the beginning of the year to around 60,000 to 70,000 employees.

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Accounting

On the move: EY names San Antonio office MP

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Carr, Riggs & Ingram appoints CFO and chief legal officer; TSCPA hosts accounting bootcamp; and more news from across the profession.

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Accounting

Tech news: Certinia announces spring release

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Certinia announces spring release; Intuit acquires tech and experts from fintech Deserve; Paystand launches feature to navigate tariffs; and other accounting tech news and updates.

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