Popular crypto payment processor, Bitpay, announced formal agreement with Florida’s Seminole County Tax Collector, Joel M. Greenberg. Bitcoin core (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) can now both be used for tax payments, beginning this summer. County residents can pay in crypto for driver licenses, ID cards, and even property taxes.
Also read: Coinbase Remains the Most Successful and Important Company in the Crypto Industry
Bitpay Allows Enthusiasts in Seminole County, Florida to Pay Taxes in Crypto
File under: bitter sweet. Joel M. Greenberg, Seminole County Tax Collector, explained, “We live in a world where technology has made access to services on demand, with same-day delivery and the expectation of highly efficient customer service and we should expect the same from our government. The aim of my tenure in office is to make our customer experience faster, smarter, and more efficient, and to bring government services from the 18th century into the 21st century and one way is the addition of cryptocurrency to our payment options.”
Cryptocurrency isn’t necessarily moral nor immoral. It is an amoral technology, a tool. It can be used for terrorism, vacation getaways, housing, and, now, taxes. As governments are wont, they’re usually immune from innovation. But when it comes to revenue collection they’re surprisingly spry, alert, on it. Paying taxes by credit or debit has been a thing for a while, but always involved processors taking a heavy cut. The advent of crypto and the Bitpay Visa does away with a great many previous frictions, making the expropriation experience win-win: enthusiasts don’t have to do yet another conversion, and governments save in fees.
Holding Noses, Simplified
Head of Compliance at Bitpay, Jeremie Beaudry, detailed, “Bitpay was started because we recognized the potential for blockchain to revolutionize the financial industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale. With the Seminole County Tax Collector’s office, we have engaged our first government agency to accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash by making it easy and seamless for them.”
And though the broader crypto community has its issues with funding governments, making paying them shouldn’t be any more cumbersome than need be. Bitpay and Seminole County teamed to allow bitcoin cash and bitcoin core for pretty much everything: car tags and titles, licenses, even property tax.
The county tax collector gets their money settled by the following business day, paid directly to the account in fiat. The local government is spared notorious price volatility and the usual risk associated with crypto. As Bitpay’s press release insists, through a “push transaction, the user sends the exact amount of bitcoin or bitcoin cash needed to pay the bill. This eliminates traditional credit card fraud and identity theft risks associated with credit cards.” The company’s fees are also better than merely competitive, as 1% per approval is way below market rate. And for those wishing to pay their taxes, the processor can be accessed through traditional computers or smartphones.
Is the ability to pay taxes with crypto a good way to increase overall adoption? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, Pixabay, Bitpay.
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