A Wall Street Journal report indicates that Ohio start is now accepting Bitcoin for taxes. Further, the report details that the move puts Ohio at the forefront in pushing for mass adoption of crypto. Interestingly, the state is not the first one to harbour such ambitions.
According to the report, the initiative has the full support of the State’s Treasurer. Josh Mandel, the treasurer, believes the cryptocurrency is a legitimate form of currency. Particularly, the users can transfer the digital assets to others without risks associated with common currency.
Only Bitcoin accepted
However, the report elaborates that the option is only open to businesses for now. In particular, users will have to access OhioCrypto.com. Here, they will get directions on the next stages of the process.
Particularly, they will need to enter their state registration number and then the tax amount and the period date. From there, the users are free to use their crypto wallets to pay off the amount due in taxes.
After all payments happen, the state will utilize BitPay to process the payments. According to the state, all businesses operating in Ohio are eligible for the process. Interestingly, the businesses need not to have their headquarters in the state. Further, the OhioCrypto.com’s FAQ elaborates that the state will only accept Bitcoins at the moment.
Interestingly, businesses can use the process to pay for a range of taxes including sales taxes, withholding taxes and more.
Ohio accepting Bitcoin for taxes does little for its legal status
However, the Wall Street Journal notes that Ohio accepting Bitcoin for taxes does not grant the cryptocurrency any legal status. Business will go on as usual and Bitcoin will continue operating in the existing lack of federal regulatory clarity.
Nonetheless, the move gives the digital asset the “kind of tacit approval Bitcoin has so far lacked.” This is especially after various states made attempts to adopt the cryptocurrency but stalled. Interestingly, states like Arizona, Georgia, and Illinois launched similar initiatives but are still stuck at the legislature stage.
However, the report comes in a period where Bitcoin and other altcoins are having a pretty bad week. As at the time of press, Bitcoin had already hit its lowest point of 2018 at $3,447.58.
