Swiss municipality (Zermatt) tax office now accepts-bitcoin!

[Lucius]

Switzerland has been crypto and blockchain-friendly country for years now, and it still continues to improve its levels of adoption. The most recent example of this comes from its municipality of Zermatt, which just announced that its locals will now be able to pay for taxes and other official transactions with Bitcoin... While the move is still rather significant for the growing crypto adoption in Switzerland — and everywhere else — it is also worth noting that Zermatt is not the first, nor the second municipality to start accepting tax payments in Bitcoin...

Swiss municipality (Zermatt) tax office now accepts-bitcoin!


Good news for Bitcoin from Switzerland again, after Zug and Chiasso, another small town (6000 inhabitants) Zermatt gives its residents the ability to pay taxes with Bitcoin. I personally find this very good news, given the constant attacks by certain media on Bitcoin that portray it as being used only by criminals or as consuming enormous amounts of electricity and destroying the environment.

If we look at economically and technologically advanced countries like Switzerland, Germany or Japan where Bitcoin is welcomed with open arms, one does not need to be too intelligent to conclude who is smart in this story and who is stupid.

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[squatter]

Good news for Bitcoin from Switzerland again, after Zug and Chiasso, another small town (6000 inhabitants) Zermatt gives its residents the ability to pay taxes with Bitcoin. I personally find this very good news, given the constant attacks by certain media on Bitcoin that portray it as being used only by criminals or as consuming enormous amounts of electricity and destroying the environment.

We're seeing the opposite in the US. Shortly after the state of Ohio began accepting bitcoin for tax payments, they indefinitely suspended the program.

Anyway, it's good news for Bitcoin's legitimacy, sure. However, I strongly recommend against actually paying taxes using bitcoins. You'd be providing the authorities ground zero to analyze your holdings and blockchain activity.

[gentlemand]

Since this is a municipality I presume the taxes payable are along the lines of property taxes and utilities. If that's the case they're going to find uptake will be somewhere in the region of nil. Still cool though.

The form of tax payment that would be most beneficial is the ability to pay taxes owed on your Bitcoin itself, be that capital gains or whatever it is wherever you are. The idea of having to go through exchanges and dick with bank accounts is much less appealing than one QR code you can fire at and forget.

[hugeblack]

Does anyone know why they accept taxes using Bitcoin? In other words, is the acceptance that Bitcoin is a legal form of money (like cash) or is it merely a valuable asset?
As far as I know; in some countries, you can pay your taxes using any of the assets without having to exchange it into cash.
Generally, if acceptance is an admission that Bitcoin is money and not assets, it will be interesting.

[gentlemand]

Does anyone know why they accept taxes using Bitcoin? In other words, is the acceptance that Bitcoin is a legal form of money (like cash) or is it merely a valuable asset?

Probably neither. They're going to treat it as similar to Visa or a cheque. It's just another method to transmit Swiss Francs to them. I doubt their other tax payers would be best pleased if the local budget was put into speculation.

[LeGaulois]

Does anyone know why they accept taxes using Bitcoin? In other words, is the acceptance that Bitcoin is a legal form of money (like cash) or is it merely a valuable asset?
As far as I know; in some countries, you can pay your taxes using any of the assets without having to exchange it into cash.
Generally, if acceptance is an admission that Bitcoin is money and not assets, it will be interesting.

Hi
Because Bitcoin Suisse has been pushing it (the company is quite active in promotion in the country, ). The municipality doesn't accept Bitcoin directly, the taxes are paid via Bitcoin Suisse that then convert it to CHF. When a citizen request to pay the taxes in BTC, he then receives a payment link via email to process the payment

It was a request from citizens too and the politic like to adapt and is open mind

“An innovative, pioneering spirit is one of the trademarks of Zermatt, which is why we are happy to support residents in providing them with the solutions they require”

https://www.bitcoinsuisse.com/news/municipality-of-zermatt-now-accepts-payments-in-bitcoin/

[Lucius]

It was a request from citizens too and the politic like to adapt and is open mind

In addition to its neutrality and financial sector, Switzerland is also known for the fact that the people do have power in their own hands. Authorities respond very well when people ask for something, and referendums are quite a common thing that ordinary people can change anything they want. This is one of the reasons why I consider Switzerland one of the most democratic countries in the world, far ahead of any EU member state at the moment.

It would be really interesting to see what would happen if citizens asked for a referendum on BTC becoming the second official currency besides the Swiss franc, but it's probably still too early for that.

[Carlton Banks]

The form of tax payment that would be most beneficial is the ability to pay taxes owed on your Bitcoin itself, be that capital gains or whatever it is wherever you are.

there are is no such concept as a tax on capital gains in Switzerland IIRC

funny how these regimes many people live under lead them to believe that the same line of "reasoning" is taken everywhere else too


darwin olympics FTW

[Lucius]

And when in other countries this will begin to do?

Firstly there is no need to quote the whole OP, and secondly try to be a little more constructive with your questions/answers.

Other countries may never follow the example of Switzerland regarding Bitcoin, because they are still far from the degree of democracy and human rights that rule there. What most of the world regards as democracy is in fact an apparent democracy, in which people decide every 4 or 5 years in elections. Switzerland is far more advanced than that model, the people deciding whenever they want through referendums.

We can also say that they do not see BTC as a threat, unlike most others, so it will take some time for some other countries to move in this direction.