Trump Removes IRS Commissioner, Pro Crypto Scott Bessent to Serve as Acting Head

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly intends to remove Billy Long as the IRS Commissioner. In his stead, the president will nominate pro-crypto Scott Bessent, who is also the Treasury Secretary, to serve as the acting Commissioner.

Donald Trump Removes IRS Commissioner, Names Bessent As Acting Head

According to a Bloomberg report, the president plans to remove the Internal Revenue Commissioner Billy Long and nominate him for an ambassadorship role. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will fill in the position until the White House names a replacement.

The IRS, as the tax regulator, oversees tax on crypto transactions. Notably, Donald Trump nullified the IRS DeFi crypto reporting rule earlier in the year. Meanwhile, as CoinGape reported, the U.S. Treasury, under Bessent, officially scrapped this reporting rule last month.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that Coinbase and its customers had a case against the IRS after the regulator issued a summons against the crypto exchange to access users’ data as part of a tax investigation.

It remains to be seen if Bessent will be able to address any crypto issues while serving as the acting head of the IRS. However, the Treasury Secretary has always affirmed the Donald Trump administration’s commitment to making the U.S. the crypto capital.

Interestingly, Donald Trump’s nomination of Bessent as the Acting Commissioner follows the nomination of pro-crypto Stephen Miran to the Fed Board. Miran will replace Adriana Kugler on the board and serve until the end of January next year.

Tax Guidance For The Crypto Industry

Notably, the Digital Asset Working Group, of which Bessent is also a member, has recommended in the White House crypto policy report that Congress should pass legislation that treats crypto assets as a new class of assets. They proposed that crypto should be subject to modified versions of tax rules applicable to securities or commodities.

The Committee urged the Treasury and the IRS to provide guidance on digital assets regarding the corporate alternative minimum tax. Therefore, Bessent could lay the groundwork for tax guidance for the crypto industry in his acting role as IRS Commissioner.

Regarding Congress legislation, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis has already introduced a crypto tax bill to eliminate double taxation for Bitcoin and crypto transactions. The bill also includes a de minimis exception rule for individual transactions under $300.