US Debt Ceiling Deal Leaves Out Cryptocurrency Mining Tax, Congressman Confirms

In a deal by President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the US debt ceiling, there is one part notably absent — a tax on cryptocurrency mining.

Over the weekend, Biden and McCarthy closed in on a deal to raise the debt ceiling with a plan to get Congress on board this week, according to CNN. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned McCarthy on Friday that if Congress had not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5, Treasury would have “insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations.”

Republican Rep. Warren Davidson shared the 99-page bill, which would still need Congress’ approval, on Twitter late Sunday night.

Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms, Inc, asked Davidson whether the Biden Administration’s Digital Asset Mining Energy excise tax, or DAME, was gone since it wasn’t in the bill. 

Davidson confirmed it had been removed.

“Yes, one of the victories is blocking proposed taxes,” Davidson said in response to Rochard. 

#DebtLimit Here’s the bill text. What are your thoughts?https://t.co/EkVwbU5RQL

— Warren Davidson 🇺🇸 (@WarrenDavidson) May 29, 2023

Tax details

The tax was proposed in the administration’s budget for fiscal year 2024 in March.

Under that proposal, firms would contend with a tax equal to 30 percent of the cost of the electricity used. 

The tax would be implemented next year and phased in gradually over a period of three years at a rate of 10 percent a year to then reach the target 30% rate by the end of 2026, according to previous cryptonews reporting. 

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., had accused the Biden administration of picking “winners and losers,” last week. 

“I will not let President Biden tax the digital asset industry out of existence,” Lummis tweeted.

Lummis first pushed back against the tax proposal last week at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami.

She said to the crowd about the tax,” that isn’t going to happen.”