Ohio becomes the first state to allow businesses to pay taxes with Bitcoin



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Beginning this week, many state-owned businesses will be able to make tax payments on various sales, as well as employee tax deductions and utility taxes with Bitcoin.

"We are proud to make Ohio the first state in the country to accept tax payments by cryptocurrency," said Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel in a statement. press.

"We are doing this to offer more options to Ohio citizens and facilitate the payment of their taxes, but also to project Ohio's leadership in the adoption of blockchain technology. . "

Companies interested in using the new system will need to register with the state treasurer's office via OhioCrypto.com, a portal that will take each payment and convert the virtual currency into real dollars before being deposited in a state account, said the press release.

The state will use BitPay, a global crypto-currency payment system, to carry out this process.

BitPay will prevent the treasurer's office from retaining or using Bitcoins, and will allow blockchain technology to create more transparency in transactions.

The system will reduce the risks of fraud and identity fraud, and will make payments quickly from anywhere, said Stephen Pair, co-founder and CEO of BitPay.

Any company operating in Ohio – even if it is not based there – will be able to use the portal to pay up to 23 taxes, including those on cigarettes and tobacco products, with a slight sense of transaction confirmation.

Beyond Bitcoin: other crypto-currencies to know
In 2014, the state launched OhioCheckbook.com to share information about expenses. In the new portal, all members of the blockchain network will be able to view all transactions made, according to the press release.

For now, taxpayers will only be able to use bitcoin, but the treasury office said it could allow other cryptocurrencies later. He will always accept checks, money orders, credit and debit cards.

The price of bitcoin fell below $ 4,000 on Sunday. The state has addressed the volatility of cryptocurrency on the new portal.
"BitPay sets the exchange rate for a 15-minute window of time allocated for each transaction as soon as a taxpayer starts making its payment on OhioCrypto.com," the site says. "BitPay assumes the risk of any fluctuation of the market during the allotted time."
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