A New Georgia Bill Could Allow Residents to Pay Taxes with Bitcoin
Georgia has become the latest US state to consider allowing its residents to pay their taxes using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Senate Bill 464, which was introduced on Feb. 21 by Republican state senators Michael Williams and Joshua McKoon, aims to amend Georgia’s laws regarding tax payments to compel the state’s revenue commissioner to accept cryptocurrencies as payments for taxes and license fees.
“The commissioner shall accept as valid payment for taxes and license fees any cryptocurrency, including but not limited to Bitcoin, that uses an electronic peer-to-peer system,” the bill states.
The bill stipulates that upon receiving a Bitcoin tax payment, officials have 24 hours to convert the funds into fiat currency and credit the taxpayer’s account for the converted dollar amount.
This could cause some headaches for taxpayers seeking to take advantage of the feature, as cryptocurrency prices often fluctuate greatly from day to day. However, it could prove popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts as adoption continues to increase.
It’s unclear whether the bill will garner enough support to pass the legislature, as other similar bills have failed in the past in other states across the country. Two years ago, for instance, Bitcoin-friendly New Hampshire voted down a bill that would have made it the first state to accept Bitcoin tax payments.
Notably, though, Georgia is not the only US state currently considering whether to make cryptocurrencies a valid payment method for state taxes.
As CCN reported, Arizona has the jump on accepting Bitcoin tax payments. SB 1091, which includes similar language to Georgia’s bill, passed the Arizona Senate 16 to 13 earlier this month and is currently working its way through the legislative process in the state’s House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Wyoming — a state that does not have income taxes — is on the cusp of approving a measure that would exempt cryptocurrency holdings from the state’s property tax, effectively equating it to other forms of money, which have always been exempt from property tax obligations.
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Souce: CNN