(Kitco News) – Pro-crypto legislation continues to be introduced by U.S. lawmakers as Niraj Antani, a state senator for Ohio, has introduced a bill to require the state to accept cryptocurrency for payment of state taxes and fees.
“TODAY: I introduced a bill to legalize the use of cryptocurrency to pay state and local taxes and fees,” Atani tweeted.
“Cryptocurrency is not just the future, but it’s the present of our 21st century economy,” he wrote in a press release. “If we want to encourage innovation and free enterprise in Ohio, we should do everything we can to normalize these use of cryptocurrencies. By allowing Ohioans to pay their taxes and fees with cryptocurrency, we will be on the cutting edge.”
Atani explained that “In November 2018, under the leadership of then State Treasurer Josh Mandel, Ohio became the first state in the nation to accept cryptocurrencies for taxes. However, in November 2019, the Ohio Attorney General advised that in order for this to occur, the State Board of Deposits must approve this. The State Board of Deposits has failed to act to approve cryptocurrencies to be accepted for taxes.”
“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,” he said. “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.”
According to the bill introduced on Sept. 30, the state tax commissioner would be enabled to decide which cryptocurrencies would be accepted in any year by June 30, 2025, and the legislation would also allow state institutions of higher education and the state pension fund to invest in cryptocurrency if they so choose.
“A governmental entity shall accept cryptocurrency, as approved by the tax commissioner […], for the payment of any tax, fee, cost, charge, assessment, fine, or other payment of expense owed to the governmental entity,” the bill reads. “The governmental entity may require the payer to pay any service fees associated with the cryptocurrency transaction.”
To help clarify what digital assets would be accepted, the bill defines cryptocurrency as “a digital representation of value […] for which there is a reasonable expectation that it will maintain a stable value relative to a fixed amount of monetary value.”
And in keeping with the anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) animus adopted by many states, the bill explicitly excludes CBDCs, saying, “‘Cryptocurrency’ does not include a national currency.”
A bill to exclude CBDCs from being treated as money under the Ohio Uniform Commercial Code is also presently making its way through the Ohio House, and lawmakers in the state are also deliberating on a bill that protects the cryptocurrency mining industry, among other things.
Notably, Ohio is the home state of J.D. Vance, Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 Presidential election. Currently, Colorado is the only state that allows residents to pay taxes using cryptocurrency.
