New York Bill Could Impose Excise Tax on Bitcoin Miners to Fund Energy Affordability Programs

New York lawmakers have proposed an excise tax on proof-of-work crypto operations: Senate Bill S8518 would levy 2–5 cents per kWh on large Bitcoin miners, directing revenue to the state’s Energy Affordability Programs to offset higher utility bills for households and small ￰0￱ targets high-usage miners with tiered excise rates to fund energy ￰1￱ ranges: 2¢/kWh (2.25–5M kWh) to 5¢/kWh (above 20M kWh); sustainable-energy miners ￰2￱ cited estimates $79M added annually for individuals and $165M for small businesses in statewide electricity ￰3￱ York Bitcoin miner tax proposed to fund energy aid; learn how the tiered excise works and who is ￰4￱ the bill summary and implications ￰5￱ is the New York Bitcoin miner tax proposal?

New York Bitcoin miner tax is a proposed excise on proof-of-work crypto mining under Senate Bill S8518 that charges miners 2¢–5¢ per kilowatt-hour based on consumption tiers and directs proceeds to Energy Affordability Programs to reduce bills for low- and moderate-income ￰6￱ would the excise rates and tiers work? Senate Bill S8518 sets tiered rates by annual consumption: miners using 2.25–5M kWh pay 2¢/kWh, 5–10M kWh pay 3¢/kWh, 10–20M kWh pay 4¢/kWh, and consumption above 20M kWh pays 5¢/kWh. Operations using verified sustainable energy are exempt , incentivizing cleaner power use while raising funds for utility relief. , "description": "New York lawmakers propose an excise tax on proof-of-work miners under Senate Bill S8518; funds go to state Energy Affordability Programs to offset higher utility costs." , Why are lawmakers proposing a tax on proof-of-work miners?

Lawmakers say high-power crypto mining increases statewide electricity demand and can push up utility costs for residents and small ￰7￱ bill references research estimating an additional $79 million annually in costs for individuals and $165 million for small businesses tied to cryptomining-related rate ￰8￱ are the fiscal and policy implications? The excise would create a direct revenue stream for energy assistance while encouraging miners to switch to sustainable power to avoid ￰9￱ regulators would need to implement measurement and verification protocols for energy consumption and renewable ￰10￱ proposal follows New York’s historically stringent regulatory stance on crypto ￰11￱ Asked Questions How much would the tax cost a typical large mining operation?

Tax liability depends on annual kWh ￰12￱ example, a facility consuming 15 million kWh would face 4¢/kWh, resulting in $600,000 in excise payments annually under the proposed ￰13￱ this bill affect AI or other high-performance computing centers? The bill focuses on proof-of-work crypto mining and does not impose the excise directly on AI data centers. A bill release noted broader growth in high-power computing but did not include AI-specific levies in the current ￰14￱ Takeaways Tiered excise: Senate Bill S8518 proposes 2¢–5¢/kWh based on annual consumption brackets. Exemptions: Verified sustainable-energy mining operations would be exempt to encourage cleaner ￰15￱ use: Proceeds would fund New York’s Energy Affordability Programs to reduce utility costs for vulnerable ￰16￱ New York’s proposed Bitcoin miner tax aims to make high-energy proof-of-work operations contribute to utility relief funds while promoting sustainable energy ￰17￱ — from mining firms to state regulators — will watch for implementation details, verification standards, and the bill’s legislative ￰18￱ will monitor developments and update this report as the bill advances.