Legislation/Regulation

SEC Failing to Provide Adequate Time for Public Feedback on Rulemaking

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is limiting timeframes for stakeholders to provide public comment on rulemaking. This is especially concerning because the SEC has been issuing complex and controversial draft rules for topics such as manipulation of security-based swaps, stock buybacks, insider trading, incentive-based compensation, and proxy voting.  Failure…

ATR Supports Rep. McHenry’s Bipartisan “Keep Innovation in America Act”

This week, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Keep Innovation in America Act (H.R. 6006) a bill that would both protect the privacy of investors in digital assets, and mitigate burdensome reporting requirements for crypto miners; validators; and software, hardware, and protocol…

Democrats Target Retirement Savings in Tax-and-Spend Package

The Democrats’ socialist tax-and-spend package is over 2,000 pages and contains billions of dollars in tax increases that will harm working families in the form of higher prices, lower wages, and fewer jobs. The Democrats’ package is also taking aim at the financial security of Americans with changes to individual…

House Tax Provision is Bad News for Crypto

Capitol Hill continues to impose tax increases on cryptocurrencies. This time, Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) of the House Ways and Means Committee released text for the tax portion of the budget reconciliation bill, which includes a section that restricts crypto investors from being able to deduct losses on certain transactions.

Wyden’s Derivatives Tax Harms Retail Investors

Last month, Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation that would severely increase the tax burden on the multi-trillion-dollar derivatives market. There is a chance that the looming $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill could include this tax hike on derivatives contracts, which would harm everyday investors trading on platforms…

SEC Adopts Rules to Prohibit the use of Leveraged/Inverse Funds

On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule that will dramatically change the use of derivative instruments and certain related transactions by mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and business development companies. SAF is opposed to the Commission’s adoption of Rule 18f-4, which represents an…

SEC Adopts Rules Change to Resource Extraction Disclosure

On December 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules regarding resource extraction payments made by public companies per Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This is the third rule attempt governing resource extraction payments adopted by the Commission, as the two previous attempts were reversed by District…

SEC Adopts Rules to Increase Access to Capital Markets

On November 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules under the title “Facilitating Capital Formation and Expanding Investment Opportunities by Improving Access to Capital in Private Markets.” SAF supports the Commission’s new rules to reduce and simplify the regulatory and compliance burdens that were placed on…

Financial Regulators Adopt Changes to Sections of the Volcker Rule

On June 25, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board approved an amendment to streamline the definition of the “covered funds” provision in the Volcker Rule, a regulation promulgated from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that limited financial institutions’ ability to conduct proprietary trading activities.