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A02873 Summary:

BILL NOA02873B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05621-B
 
SPONSORKelles
 
COSPNSRSimon
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 73-a, Pub Off L
 
Relates to reporting of digital assets on the annual statement of financial disclosure filed with the legislative ethics commission or the joint commission on public ethics.
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A02873 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2873B
 
SPONSOR: Kelles
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to reporting of digital assets on the annual statement of financial disclosure   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to close the loophole on digital assets, like bitcoin, on the state's financial disclosure statement and add transparency regarding individuals' interest in this type of digital financial property.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: A new paragraph 16-a is added to subdivision 3 of section 73-a of the public officers law to require the reporting of name and market value of digital assets held by the reporting individual, in excess of $1,000, at the close of the taxable year prior to the date of filing. For purposes of the bill, "digital assets" means an asset that is issued, transferred, or both, using distributed ledger or blockchain technology, including, but not limited to, digital currencies, digital coins, digital non-fungible tokens or other similar assets. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE): The B-print updates the term "cryptocurrencies" to "digital assets", clarifies that the name of digital assets shall be reported, and includes definitions for "digital asset", "digital currency", and "distributed ledger or blockchain technology."   JUSTIFICATION: In 2014 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that the first non-cen- tral bank digital cryptocurrency, known as bitcoin, be treated as prop- erty for tax purposes. This meant that bitcoin would henceforth be subject to capital gains tax. In July 2019, the IRS started sending letters to cryptocurrency owners warning them to amend their returns and pay taxes. Additionally, academic research has shown that bitcoin has some characteristics more like the precious metals market than tradi- tional currencies, signaling agreement with the IRS decision even if based on different reasons. Source: https://en.vvikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency Because transactions of digital assets like cryptocurrency can be made anonymously, they are difficult to track and to regulate. They are increasingly popular tools for cybercrimes and "ransomware," a kind of digital hijacking. The shutdown of the Colonial natural gas pipeline in the US southeast was an international cyberattack by hackers who demanded payment via cryptocurrency. This type of digital asset is designed to work as a medium of exchange of units called "coins". The coins are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized data- base and is called a "blockchain". Cryptocurrency does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority. Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since the release of bitcoin, many other cryptocurrencies have been created.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2022: A9086 (Kelles) - Referred to Governmental Operations Committee   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1St folio wing enactment.
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A02873 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2873--B
                                                                   R. R. 107
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. KELLES, SIMON -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules -- ordered to a
          third reading,  passed  by  Assembly  and  delivered  to  the  Senate,
          recalled  from  the  Senate,  vote reconsidered, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted, retaining its place on the special order of third reading
 
        AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in  relation  to  reporting  of
          digital assets on the annual statement of financial disclosure
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 73-a of the public officers law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph 16-a to read as follows:
     3    16-a. List below the name and market value of digital assets  held  by
     4  the reporting individual or such individual's spouse or domestic partner
     5  in  EXCESS  of  $1,000  at  the close of the taxable year last occurring
     6  prior to the date of filing. Whenever  an  interest  in  digital  assets
     7  exists through a beneficial interest in a trust, the digital assets held
     8  in such trust shall be listed ONLY IF the reporting individual has know-
     9  ledge  thereof  except  where  the reporting individual or the reporting
    10  individual's spouse or domestic partner has transferred assets  to  such
    11  trust for his or her benefit in which event such digital assets shall be
    12  listed  unless  they  are  not ascertainable by the reporting individual
    13  because the trustee is under an obligation or  has  been  instructed  in
    14  writing not to disclose the contents of the trust to the reporting indi-
    15  vidual.    The  digital  assets of which the reporting individual or the
    16  reporting individual's spouse or domestic partner is the owner of record
    17  but in which such individual or the  reporting  individual's  spouse  or
    18  domestic  partner  has  no beneficial interest shall not be listed. Also
    19  list digital assets owned for investment purposes by a corporation  more
    20  than fifty percent (50%) of the stock of which is owned or controlled by
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03465-06-3

        A. 2873--B                          2
 
     1  the  reporting  individual or such individual's spouse or domestic part-
     2  ner.  For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms  shall  have
     3  the following meanings:
     4    (a)  "Digital  asset" shall mean an asset that is issued, transferred,
     5  or both, using distributed ledger or blockchain  technology,  including,
     6  but  not limited to, digital currencies, digital coins, digital non-fun-
     7  gible tokens or other similar assets.
     8    (b) "Digital currency" shall mean any type of  digital  unit  that  is
     9  used as a medium of exchange or a form of digitally stored value. Virtu-
    10  al  currency  shall  be  broadly  construed  to include digital units of
    11  exchange that: (i) have a centralized repository or administrator;  (ii)
    12  are  decentralized  and have no centralized repository or administrator;
    13  or (iii) may be created or  obtained  by  computing,  manufacturing,  or
    14  other similar effort.
    15    (c)  "Distributed ledger or blockchain technology" shall mean a ledger
    16  or database that stores shared state by maintaining it across  a  multi-
    17  plicity  of  devices  belonging  to  different  entities and securing it
    18  through a combination of cryptographic and  consensus  protocols,  where
    19  the  shared state serves to authenticate, record, share, and/or synchro-
    20  nize transactions involving digital assets or virtual currencies.
 
    21                                          Category of
    22                                          Market Value
    23                                          as of the close
    24                                          of the taxable
    25                                          year last
    26                                          occurring
    27                                          prior to
    28    Self/        Type of                  the filing of
    29    Spouse or    Digital Asset            this statement
    30    Domestic                              (In Table II)
    31    Partner
    32  _______________________________________________________________________
    33  _______________________________________________________________________
    34  _______________________________________________________________________
    35  _______________________________________________________________________
    36  _______________________________________________________________________
    37    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    38  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.
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