People Of Arizona Might Soon Start Paying Off Their Tax Liabilities Using Bitcoins

After spreading its wings in aviation, furniture, music and even food industry, cryptocurrency might soon find its way into the tax paying system. According to “http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/07/arizona-might-allow-people-to-pay-taxes-via-bitcoin.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Foxnews Residents of Arizona can soon avail of the cryptocurrency mode for catering to their tax paying liabilities. Arizona is the U.S. state in the southwestern region of the United States.

The proposed bills hold the potential of revolutionizing the way in which the government deals with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. One such bill shall give the recognition of a currency to digital tokens while the other will allow taxpayers to use the same as a payment option.

Arizona State Rep. Jeff Weninger said that:

“It’s one of a litany of bills that we’re running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future.”

He feels that this co-sponsored bill shall make taxpaying a cakewalk for the people of the state. “The ease of use, being able to do it in the middle of the night, being able to do it at home while you’re watching TV. I think in a few years this isn’t even going to be a question.” Rep. Weninger said.

Also Read: Bitcoin Enters The Tax Payment System Of Switzerland

The University of Cambridge has estimated the total number of active cryptocurrency wallet users to be ranging in between 2.9 to 5.8 million. Phoenix business owner Jack Biltis is one of them and his payroll company Tag Employer Services provides remuneration to the employees in Bitcoin mode.

Biltis was quoted as saying:

“We’re living in just a hugely interesting time and, really, we just want to be a part of it. We just know that we could be, as Arizona’s chosen to be, at the forefront of this time and encourage these new technologies. That’s just an exciting place to be.”

The price of Bitcoin was just 6 cents per unit in July 2010 and has undergone a meteoric rise to $20,000 in December 2017. The total number of Bitcoin in circulation is now 16.8 million since its launch in 2009.

Biltis feels that:

“By accepting cryptocurrencies, you can do it for pennies and at the same time you can transfer money, really, in almost an instant amount of time. So, this new technology is absolutely going to replace what we have now with our inefficient credit cards and banking systems.”

Others however are firm believers of the adequacy of the system in tackling the scenario. Steve Farley, the Minority Leader at Arizona State Senate thinks that once the proposal is shown a green signal, the risk of a Bitcoin crash can put all the taxpayers at heightened risk.

Farley holds the view that:

“If we had a bill that allowed people to pay their taxes in bitcoin directly, that puts the volatility burden on all other taxpayers because it would mean that that money goes to the state and then the state has to take the responsibility of how to exchange it.”

Farley said that Bitcoin underwent a 15% fall in its value after just three days of the voting of the bill in the committee. He concluded saying that:

“I think too often in our tax code, certain special interests get advantage, while everyone else pays the price. This is the perfect example because the lobbyists who came up who spoke on behalf of this bill only wanted advantage for his particular client. That’s part of why our entire tax code becomes such a mess because you have special interest lobbyists going in there and trying to get a break for their own clients. The rest of us who aren’t present frankly we get screwed.”

Weninger feels that in monetary terms, the entry point of getting into Bitcoin is low. Most of the money would have to be spent for imparting the necessary education amongst people so that they don’t get confused while operating the system.

Biltis said that:

“It’s always a little scary and thrilling at the beginning, it was with anything (including) the Internet. The world is going to look so different in 20 years and the people that are going to be truly successful are the people that embrace it now and are on the leading edge of that curve.”

Bitcoin which functions using the underlying Blockchain technology operates entirely on the Internet wherein every transaction is recorded by a shared ledger database. Blockchain legislation has already been either enacted or adopted by five states till date. The World Economic Forum has predicted that the government will implement Blockchain in the tax collection mechanism for the first time in 2023. But if this Arizona bill gets cleared then taxpayers can opt for the Blockchain based tax-payment within just two years down the line.

Also Read: Blockchain Technology Could Revolutionize Taxation

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