The governor of Colorado has stated that his state will accept bitcoins and cryptocurrency for tax purposes by the summer of 2022.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Polis suggested that Colorado residents who hold crypto should be able to send tax payments in digital currencies. The state would then convert back into fiat. In his remarks to reporters, the governor said that an unnamed intermediary is likely to handle the cryptocurrency-to-fiat exchange.
We expect to accept crypto by this summer for all of the state’s tax-related purposes, Polis said. In the not too distant future, Colorado residents may be able to request their licenses online with bitcoin.
The Colorado Digital Token Act was signed into law shortly after Polis took office. Several securities regulations were intended to be exempted from tokens with a “primarily consumptive purpose.” Hansen had introduced legislation in January proposing changing Pennsylvania’s commercial code to protect ownership and control of digital information assets generated by agricultural producers in a similar manner to Wyoming’s changes. The governor talked about how Hansen is working on the bill.
As part of his speech, Polis added that he considers the protection of privacy a core duty of the government.
Upon being asked about the volatility of cryptocurrencies, the governor stated that he was “not at all” concerned as the state had no intentions of hoarding the coins and would immediately convert them into cash. Polis cited the prospect of promoting a new asset class as the reason for the state’s potential adoption of crypto payments.
State governments are competing to come up with legal frameworks that are as friendly to bitcoin as possible in order to become hubs for innovation in the space by attracting businesses and entrepreneurs and empowering their local economies.
It seems that Missouri is planning to remove bitcoin from completely state taxation as soon as possible, while Tennessee is thinking of buying bitcoins itself. In contrast to that, Arizona is taking it one step further. It proposes to make bitcoin legal tender in the state.
