The Ontarian town of Innisfil, Canada, has launched a pilot program in which local residents can pay their taxes in cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin first and possibly others soon after. This follows a development last year where American residents of the state of Ohio were allowed to pay their taxes in Bitcoin.
CBC reports that the Innisfil town council approved the program on March 27, will begin in April and have a duration of one year in partnership with a company from Toronto.
The residents will be able to pay their taxes through the Coinberry app, which will then be converted into Canadian dollars and transferred to the town’s officials. Although Bitcoin will be the only currency supported from the get-go, other cryptocurrencies that follow include Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ripple (XRP).
Earlier this year, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) disseminated a lengthy questionnaire asking citizens if they had invested in cryptocurrencies, and the questionnaire included questions on the use of mixing services and the period of time for which they had been investing.
Canada is currently in the midst of handling a lot of cryptocurrency related lawmaking. The QuadrigaCX scandal continues, and investors are still waiting on their funds to return. CBC also states that the Ontario Securities Commission is a part of Operation Cryptosweep, an initiative to investigate ICOs and crypto related products. Earlier this month, 4 men were charged with stealing funds from Bitcoin ATMs in various locations in Canada.
It is a positive sign that governmental authorities are opening up to the idea of cryptocurrency use. While it is a pilot program, as the network performance and security improves, such development can only shine some good light on the possibilities with digital assets. What we can expect from the next few months or years will depend on whether or not lawmakers can see the upside of using the emerging asset class.
