Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. MORE ON TAX CREDITS: Koch Industries pushed back on the statement from Schumer and Wyden — arguing, among other things, that the Russian government could take over and take advantage of its facilities in the country if Koch pulled out. (One Koch company has about 600 employees in Russia working in glass manufacturing, as The Hill's Jordain Carney noted.) In any event, the original statement marked the second time in about a week that Wyden proposed targeting foreign tax credits as a potential further method for sanctioning Russia. So what kind of chances might that have? For starters, there can be no doubt that both Democrats and Republicans, at least generally speaking, have a rather extensive appetite when it comes to Russia sanctions. As an example, House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and the panel's top Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, introduced a bill last week that would suspend America's normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. Democrats pushing for action on the issue say there is some interest from key Republicans — Sen. Rob Portmanof Ohio, for instance, has tweeted his support for the idea. Plus, they argue that the fact that the U.S. already has these sanctions in place for those four other countries could make it easier to add a couple more in Russia and Belarus. There is the question of just how necessary a step this might be, considering how many companies are getting out of Russia and Belarus voluntarily. But supporters argue that might make it an even easier sell, because relatively few companies might see their foreign tax credits affected. Still, it remains wait-and-see on this issue. Republican leaders have yet to say much about whether they'd support a policy like this. Plus, is it possible that Schumer and Wyden's approach last week — directly targeting and trying to shame Koch Industries — didn't go over well among at least some GOP officials? As for the business community, it certainly hasn't been out there lobbying against the idea of losing foreign tax credits connected to Russia — or a whole lot of other sanctions being discussed right now, for that matter. Something else to consider: Portman noted on Friday that the U.K. was no longer sharing tax information with Russia and Belarus, and urged the Biden administration to follow a similar path. THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION: For all the IRS has on its plate these days, it has to deal with this predicament, too — how exactly do you tax a non-fungible token? For years now, the IRS has said that it will tax cryptocurrency, which generally is what is used to buy an NFT, as a property, like a stock or a bond. But beyond that, the IRS hasn't delivered any specific guidance on the tax obligations that come with NFTs — something that doesn't seem likely to change soon, even though industry advocates and tax practitioners really wish it would, as our Sam Sutton reported. In the meantime, experts say that NFTs could be taxed as a short- or long-term capital gain, or even as income or dividends, and that they're trying to figure out how to correctly treat a particular NFT transaction for tax purposes by essentially making educated guesses based on existing IRS guidances. The crypto exchange Coinbase also argues that people dabbling in this area won't necessarily be thinking about tax implications when buying an NFT, which is where better guidance would come in handy. Meanwhile, those exchanges and tax experts are teaming up to try and muddle through this first tax season where NFTs have really taken hold, and as the IRS is now requiring that taxpayers list virtual currency transactions on their tax forms.
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