Two Companies Have Already Paid Taxes Through Crypto In Ohio

By Prashant Jha

We know that the US State of Ohio made headlines back in November 2018 by opening up the possibility of paying tax dues with cryptocurrencies. It was the first state to do so in the country. Now, it seems two companies have jumped at the opportunity of being able to pay taxes in crypto as Robert Sprague, the state Treasurer claimed at a recent forum meeting.

While attending the meeting of a forum that deals with policy issues affecting the state of Ohio, Sprague said that till then the state government had recorded two instances of taxes being paid via cryptocurrencies. He did not reveal to the public the exact sum of tax dues that had been collected from these two companies in the form of cryptocurrencies.

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Sprague elaborated that the state Treasury of Ohio does no handle the crypto payments flowing in for tax settlements directly. The Treasury itself only accepts taxes in the form of US Dollars. A cryptocurrency platform has been contractually involved to handle the crypto receipts and convert the cryptocurrencies that come in to fiat form.

He explained:

“We will never accept won or renminbi or francs or cryptocurrency, or any other currency. You have to relieve your debts to the state of Ohio with U.S. dollars. That’s what we’re currently accepting. This platform just allows for that exchange, basically before that debt is settled to the state of Ohio.”

Sprague has further detailed that the State is now having deliberations to figure out what changes may be necessary, whether an expansion or a curtailment should be affected as far as this particular policy is concerned. Counterparty risks that lie with the vendors are being looked into as well.

Ohio has been making several concerted efforts to attract blockchain and crypto firms to do business in their state and this policy measure is undoubtedly likely to take efforts that extra mile ahead.

Prashant Jha

As a content writer Prashant believes in presenting complex topics in simple laymen terms. He is a tech enthusiast and an avid reader.

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