The Buckeye State has had a good few days! First, the Buckeyes trampled the Wolverines, and now, in the world of cryptocurrency, Ohio allows Bitcoin tax payments!
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, starting this week, companies in Ohio will be able to pay a variety of taxes, from tobacco sales to employee withholding tax to public utilities tax with Bitcoin.
Companies that want to do this have to finish a 3-step process. First, businesses will have to register with the Office of the Ohio Treasurer through a dedicated portal called OhioCrypto.com. They then need to enter tax details such as a payment amount and tax period/year, and, finally, the due amount is paid in Bitcoin using a “compatible” crypto wallet.
Compatible crypto wallets include the Bitcoin Core client, Mycelium, Breadwallet, and others that are compatible with the Bitcoin Payment Protocol.
The crypto tax payments will be processed by BitPay, an Atlanta-based Bitcoin payments processor. BitPay will convert Bitcoins to dollars for the Ohio Treasurer’s office.
This service is being offered to businesses only for now – it is reportedly expected to be made available to Ohioans in the future.
Lawmakers in other US states have considered allowing crypto tax payments in the past, but to no avail. In March, Illinois and Arizona were both weighing proposals to allow residents to pay their tax bills in Bitcoin. Georgia considered the option back in February.
Arizona scrapped its plans two months later due to insufficient votes for the proposal. Georgia’s lawmakers failed to make headway on their proposal due to a “lack of understanding” about cryptocurrency, according to Senator Mike Williams of Georgia.
Ohio has been moving aggressively towards blockchain technology and its adoption. Over the summer, Ohio legally recognized data stored and transacted on a blockchain, meaning electronic signatures secured through blockchain technology have the same legal standing as any other electronic signature in the Buckeye State.
Ohio lawmakers have been pitching their state as a future hub for blockchain, hoping to both attract companies in cryptocurrency and talent to their state.
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