Australian Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has warned that residents could use cryptocurrency to pay local taxes in the coming years, although critics have cited current market fluctuations as a cause for concern.
“Why cannot we pay rates on cryptocurrency, if the risk is not too much?” Tate, who spoke to local media outlet ABC Information on June 5, noted that due to the council’s annual budget, it increased each week earlier than the council’s time. “The volatility is not too bad.”
Tate was elected mayor of the Gold Coast, Australia’s sixth- largest city, in 2012, and has proven to be a popular choice by being re-elected for a second term in 2016 and for a third term in 2020. He stated that the move has not been confirmed, but they were looking to the future.
Anyway, critics have argued that cryptocurrency price volatility in the midst of a market crash could reduce the willingness to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.
Talking to ABC News, Blockchain Australia Adam Poulton said that the council should consider it’s risk-taking before deciding to take cryptocurrency as payment.
“The last thing they want to do is accept the $2,000 worth of rates, keep it in bitcoin, and half the price of bitcoin,” he stated.
The mayor’s remarks come as more and more cities and towns around the world are beginning to consider allowing the use of cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies to pay local taxes and rates.
In April, the Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis reported plans to allow residents to pay taxes using the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Sand Dollar.
In the same month, it was announced that residents in 3 main Chinese cities started paying taxes, stamps and social security premiums using the country’s CBDC, the digital yuan.
Other areas which have declared or used cryptocurrencies for tax purposes are the Swiss city of Lugano, Buenos Aires, Colorado, Rio de Janeiro and The Central African Republic.
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