Canada: Ontario Town Approves Pilot Program for Paying Property Taxes With Bitcoin

Published at: March 29, 2019

The Ontario town of Innisfil, Canada, is now running a pilot program which will enable residents to pay property taxes with cryptocurrencies. The Innisfil Council voted to approve the program on March 27.

Per the CBC, Innisfil, in partnership with cryptocurrency payment processing project Coinberry Pay, will allow its residents to pay property taxes in Bitcoin (BTC), wherein the latter will convert cryptocurrency to Canadian dollars and transfer payments to the town.

The initiative may reportedly extend support to other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ripple (XRP) at a later date.

Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin told the CBC that the new payment pilot showed that the community prioritizes innovation. In 2017, the town of 36,000 launched a tax-subsidized ride sharing program in a partnership with Uber called Innisfil Transit.

In the United States, the state of Ohio became the first to allow businesses to pay taxes using Bitcoin. Businesses are allowed to pay 23 different taxes using the crypto through an online portal that was set up by the state treasury office. While the new initiative aims to make it easier for firms to pay their taxes, only two companies reportedly took advantage of the new service last year.

In February, lawmakers in the state of California introduced a bill to allow cannabis-related businesses to pay fees and taxes in stablecoins. Assembly Bill 953 would allow the state, city and county tax offices to accept cryptocurrency pegged to a physical asset or a fiat currency from cannabis-related companies seeking to pay their excise or cultivation taxes. The bill has currently been referred to committee.

Earlier in March, Cointelegraph reported that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the government’s tax collection service, was reportedly auditing investors in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The CRA was asking investors to clarify multiple points regarding their crypto investments, such how and through whom they purchased the assets and whether they use cryptocurrency mixing services or tumblers.

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