No precedent: IRS court settlement doesn't clarify crypto staking taxes
In May 2021, a Nashville couple known as the Jarretts filed a lawsuit against the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over taxes they had paid on unclaimed and unsold Tezos (XTZ) staking rewards. At the beginning of February,news broke that the lawsuit filed by the Jarretts had come to an end, resulting in the IRS issuing the couple a tax refund for $3,793.
Not long after this news made headlines, confusion among the crypto community piqued. One crypto media publication sent a tweet from its official account on Feb. 2, 2022, saying, “BREAKING: IRS will not tax unsold staked crypto as income.” The tweet generated over 4,000 retweets and over 18,000 likes, as Crypto Twitter rejoiced over the assumed notion that the IRS would not tax unsold staked crypto.
More confusion resulted as mainstream media outlets proceeded to publish articles implying that the IRS would not tax passive income from staked crypto. For example, a recent Forbes article published by a senior contributor stated:
Seth Wilks, head of government relations and SME at TaxBit — a platform specializing in cryptocurrency taxation — told Cointelegraph that a slew of misinformation was spread and false conclusions being made regarding the lawsuit:
Wilks said that a court ruling is still to be made, as the IRS has only settled the dispute by paying the couple a refund. He added that assuming the plaintiffs don’t come up with an unexpected legal argument to keep the case moving forward, the likely outcome would be for the judge to fully dismiss the case. “From a legal standpoint, I envision the Department of Justice — which is the law firm for the IRS in these matters — will file a motion with the court to have the case dismissed, citing mootness, meaning
Read more on cointelegraph.com
