US: Georgia Next State In Line To Accept Crypto For Taxes, Licenses

Georgia is the next U.S. state in line to possibly endorse digital currencies as a legitimate type of payment for state licenses and taxes, according to the bill introduced in February.

Senate Bill 464, presented by Republican state senators, Michael Williams, and Joshua McKoon proposed that “The commissioner shall accept as legal payment for license fees and taxes any digital currency, including although not limited to bitcoin, which utilizes an electronic peer-to-peer system. The bill specifies that after payments are obtained, the commissioner will change the cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars within a period not exceeding 24 hours.

The new law comes on the heels of similar steps taken by Arizona bill that was passed earlier this month and which states that, “Taxpayers can pay their income tax liability utilizing a payment gateway, such as litecoin, bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrencies accepted by the department, applying electronic peer-to-peer systems.” Also, the Arizona bill authorizes crypto to be changed into US dollars within 24 hours.

Arizona is probably among the leading states in the US to endorse cryptocurrencies for tax payments presently, having passed its third reading by a narrow margin.

Recently, Wyoming introduced the law that would exempt digital currencies from being taxed as property according to the crypto’s federal classification since 2014. An assemblage of mostly republicans presented bill SF0111, which proposes a catalog of “intangible items”, among which are digital currencies, cashier’s checks, and gold, which would be exempted from property taxes.

Initially, while the news may look like a boon for cryptocurrency users, tax law professional Robert Wood wrote in the specialist take for Cointelegraph that utilizing digital currencies for tax reimbursement can lead to paying more taxes, since profits in cryptocurrencies may themselves be subject to investment income tax and capital gains tax.