[2019-03-29] Canadian Municipality Set to Accept Bitcoin for Property Tax Paymen

[Davidbugs]

A municipality in Canada is set to accept bitcoin for property tax payments starting next month as part of a one-year trial.

The Town of Innisfil, Ontario, announced Thursday that the cryptocurrency payment option will be offered in partnership with Toronto-based digital assets trading platform Coinberry.

Starting April, approximately 36,000 residents of the town will now see bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option on the municipality’s website. Other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and XRP could also be added in the future, according to the statement.

Using Coinberry’s cryptocurrency payment processing solution Coinberry Pay, residents will be able to pay taxes in bitcoin in Innisfil’s digital wallet.

Coinberry will then process those funds “in accordance with strict adherence to existing financial regulatory requirements” and “instantly” convert them into Canadian dollars and transfer it to the municipality. Coinberry is a Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)-registered firm.

Innisfil mayor Lynn Dollin said:

“There’s no doubt that cryptocurrency is growing in usage and popularity. By getting into this now, we are making sure our municipality is ahead of the game, and signalling to the world that we truly are a future-ready and innovative community.”

Back in November, the U.S. state of Ohio also allowed businesses to pay taxes in bitcoin, in partnership blockchain payments processor BitPay. Ohio is also expected to extend the service to individuals in the future.

https://www.coindesk.com/canadian-municipality-set-to-accept-bitcoin-for-property-tax-payments

[1715029180]

1715029180

[1715029180]

1715029180

[1715029180]

1715029180

[o_e_l_e_o]

and “instantly” convert them into Canadian dollars and transfer it to the municipality

In exactly the same way as the story from a few weeks ago that Starbucks is going to start accepting bitcoin, this headline isn't accurate. A bitcoin payment processing company, in this case Coinberry, is accepting bitcoin and then transferring the corresponding amount of fiat to the government. Now, don't get me wrong - I think this is a necessary first step on the road to widespread adoption. Expecting a company to go from no bitcoin support, to running their own node, accepting, storing and even paying employees in bitcoin in 1 step is unrealistic, but perhaps we could be a bit more accurate with our headlines.

[LeGaulois]

They aren't accepting cryptos, they're accepting to use the 3rd party (CoinBerry) so the folks can accept to pay their property tax in cryptos. That makes a huge difference.
I don't know if it's to answer the demand, but I don't think people are interested in using their coins to pay taxes, especially if it's a Bitcoin bought at $20,000. It's better to keep your coins and wait for the market to pick up.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I don't know if it's to answer the demand, but I don't think people are interested in using their coins to pay taxes, especially if it's a Bitcoin bought at $20,000. It's better to keep your coins and wait for the market to pick up.

Yeah, any bitcoin that I am spending at the moment, I am more or less immediately replacing by spending fiat to buy the same amount or more back again. I'm not interested in depleting my holdings at such a low price. I can understand your point - I can't imagine anyone who hasn't yet panicked and sold is now suddenly super eager to start offloading their bitcoin just as the market looks like it is starting to pick up again.

[BitHodler]

I don't know if it's to answer the demand, but I don't think people are interested in using their coins to pay taxes, especially if it's a Bitcoin bought at $20,000. It's better to keep your coins and wait for the market to pick up.

It might sound weird, but registering a tax loss will allow you to offset the difference against future profits, which isn't all that bad to be honest. I'm sure that there are enough people that have utilized the bear market to gain that advantage.

But yeah, spending Bitcoin is such a no go for most people at current levels. I rather keep using fiat for now, till the price has gone up to levels I feel comfortable spending instead of converting to fiat due to the tax advantage it offers me.

[1Referee]

Paying your taxes with Bitcoin is a convenient way for the ignorant Bitcoin enthusiasts to expose their coin holdings, because Bitcoin is super anonymous, right?

What people consider a positive development is a gold mine for governments to figure out who owns crypto, and whether or not you have been declaring your profits and holdings in all honesty. I always pay my taxes in fiat and will continue doing so.