Florida legislator proposes
A bill has been introduced by a lawmaker in Florida that would approve Bitcoin as a valid payment method for federal taxes. Republican Representative Matt Gaetz proposed the bill on Tuesday, which would allow American citizens to use Bitcoin to fulfill their federal income tax obligations. Gaetz believes that this modernized tax system will encourage innovation, improve efficiency, and help the U.S. maintain its leadership in technological advancement.
Inspired by Bitcoin’s impact in El Salvador, Gaetz sees this as a bold step towards a future where digital currencies play a vital role in the financial system. El Salvador, under the pro-crypto President Nayib Bukele, was the first country in the world to legalize Bitcoin, despite facing criticism from the IMF and the U.S. The nation has made billions in unrealized profit on its BTC investment.
Gaetz’s bill for using Bitcoin to pay taxes is new and has not yet been discussed in Congress. If the bill moves forward, it may follow in the footsteps of Colorado state law, which allows taxes to be paid in cryptocurrency. Colorado initiated its crypto tax payment program in late 2022 and is the only jurisdiction across state lines with such policies.
Additionally, bipartisan legislators have been successful in passing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which aims to regulate crypto oversight by dividing responsibilities between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In other news, senators Maxine Waters and Patrick McHenry are working on stablecoin bills that would allow banks and other local financial institutions to issue U.S. dollar-pegged tokens.
The departure of the SEC’s head of crypto has raised questions about potential changes in crypto regulation.
