Ohio State Senator Niraj Antani has proposed a new bill to allow local citizens to pay taxes in crypto.
If approved, the new bill filed on Sept. 30 would require all Ohio political subdivisions to accept Bitcoin (BTC) and other not yet specified cryptocurrencies for payments. Antani commented on the bill:
“Cryptocurrency is not just the future — it’s the present. I’m proud to be the most pro-cryptocurrency Member of the Ohio Senate. If we want to encourage innovation and free enterprise in Ohio, we should do everything we can to normalize the use of cryptocurrencies.
By allowing Ohioans to pay their taxes and fees with cryptocurrency, we will be on the cutting edge.”
Not the first try
This is not the first time Ohio has experimented with accepting cryptocurrency payments. In 2018, the Midwestern state briefly became the first to allow businesses to pay taxes in Bitcoin.
The initiative did not last long, since shortly after its introduction Ohio Attorney General ruled that it would have to be approved by the State Board of Deposits. The lack of approval by the regulatory body resulted in the service being promptly terminated.
Antani is giving Ohio’s crypto adoption another shot by explicitly requiring the acceptance of cryptocurrency as payment method. Antani’s announcement reads:
“Former State Treasurer Josh Mandel was a leader on cryptocurrency in 2018 and Ohioans have him to thank for being an early adopter of this innovation. This policy should have been acted on by the State Board of Deposits when it was deemed necessary. Since they have failed to act, the legislature will.”
The bill would also allow state universities and pension funds to invest in cryptocurrencies. The news follows late July reports that Jersey City’s pension plan decided to invest in Bitcoin through spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
A similar report came from South Korea in mid-August when its Public Pension Fund acquired 245,000 shares in MicroStrategy during the second quarter of 2024. MicroStrategy is a United States company whose primary purpose is accumulating capital to buy Bitcoin (BTC) to keep in its coffers — it is often seen as a regulatory-friendly Bitcoin investment.
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