Ohio to Accept Tax Payments in Crypto

In what is being hailed as a first in America, Ohio's State Treasurer Josh Mandel has made it possible for businesses to pay taxes using Bitcoin.

In the coming weeks, business owners in the state will be able to register and settle their tax liabilities online, with payments to be processes by cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay.

Businesses will be able to pay 23 different taxes using BTC through an online portal that has been set up by the state treasury office.

Reasons for the moveThe Ohio Treasurer has stated that the move is one to provide more options for state businesses and residents to interact with the state government.

In 2014, he launched OhioCheckbook.com, which put all of the Ohio state government spending information online and accessible to the public.

"Secondly, to project to the rest of the country and the world that the state of Ohio is a leader in blockchain technology. I believe if we're going to grow our technology economy here in Ohio, we have to first be a leader in technology."

Georgia looked to pass a bill in February that would allow cryptocurrencies to be used as a payment option for state taxes and licenses.

Despite these failures, other U.S. states have passed various bills that have helped the adoption cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology which bodes well for the future of adoption.

"In the U.S., other states around the country also considered accepting cryptocurrencies for taxes, but those initiatives in Arizona, Georgia and Illinois never got past state legislatures. The Swiss municipality of Chiasso allowed residents to pay their taxes in Bitcoin starting in January of 2018, while Seminole County, Florida, became the very first county in the U.S. to announce accepting Bitcoin to pay their taxes in May of 2018.".

"I hope what we're doing in Ohio will inspire states around the country to allow their taxpayers to pay in cryptocurrency and ultimately inspire the federal government to pay federal taxes with crypto as well."