Ohio businesses banned from paying taxes in Bitcoin
OhioCrypto.com, the website which facilitated paying taxes in bitcoin, will be terminated.
Fewer than 10 businesses have chosen to pay taxes in crypto in the past 10 months.
Ohio, the first U.S state to accept taxes in Bitcoin, will discontinue accepting cryptocurrency tax payments. Robert Sprague, the treasurer of Ohio, announced the termination of the OhioCrypto.com website. The website allowed businesses in the state to pay taxes in bitcoin. The taxes collected were later converted into U.S. dollars with the help of BitPay, a blockchain payments provider.
Sprague’s office labels the website as a “financial transaction device”. They believe that BitPay should get sanctions from the Board of Deposit including the Attorney General, Auditor of State, and Treasurer of State. Sprague is affirmative of innovative new technologies and processes. He added:
“Until a formal opinion is issued by the Attorney General, I feel it is prudent to suspend the website.”
The method of paying cryptocurrency as a tax was first proposed in the state by then-Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. Individuals were also expected to utilize this facility. However, it seems to have got no traction with businesses. Sprague stated that fewer than 10 businesses have chosen to pay taxes in crypto in the 10 months since OhioCrypto.com’s launch.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
