US city authorities mull paying taxes in bitcoin

A Jackson, Tennessee blockchain task force has begun examining the possibility of paying property taxes and salaries in the first cryptocurrency.

Our blockchain task force is looking into how the @CityofJacksonTN can accept property tax payments in #bitcoin and allow our employees to DCA in Bitcoin.

— Mayor Scott Conger (@MayorConger) July 16, 2021

Supporting the initiative, Mayor Scott Conger suggested that bitcoin could help temper inflation and weaken the dollar.

“Why do we accept inflation? Why don’t we demand more from our federal government? 6.3% in 2 years. 172.8% in my lifetime. Every year our dollar is worth less. The situation does not change. There is only one solution.”, he wrote.

Why do we accept inflation? Why don’t we demand more from our federal government?
6.3% in 2 years. 172.8% in my lifetime. Every year our dollar is worth less. There is no rebound.
There is only 1 fix for this.. #Bitcoin

— Mayor Scott Conger (@MayorConger) July 16, 2021

If approved, municipal salaries could be paid on a dollar-cost averaging basis, distributing the purchase amount into small portions at regular intervals.

The latest announcement builds on April plans to study the potential of the first cryptocurrency for its integration into the financial system. At that time, city authorities said they were considering payroll payments in bitcoin, mining the first cryptocurrency, and adding BTC to municipal reserves.

Earlier, Conger did not rule out that, in addition to the first cryptocurrency, Jackson might adopt a similar approach for Ethereum and Litecoin (LTC).

In February, Miami Mayor Francis Suárez spoke of plans to allow civil servants to receive payments in the first cryptocurrency. He did not rule out transferring 1% of the city budget into bitcoin.

Later, the city authorities voted in favour of studying options for integrating digital gold into municipal infrastructure.

In May, Williston, North Dakota, allowed payments for utilities in bitcoin.

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