Mayor Tom Tate of the Gold Coast, Australia, has suggested that people could use cryptocurrencies to pay local taxes in the future, however, detractors have raised concerns about crypto volatility and the current market fall.
“Why can’t we pay rates on cryptocurrencies if the risk isn’t high?” Tate asked local news station ABC News on June 5, just over a week before the council’s annual budget is supposed to be handed down. “The turbulence isn’t that bad.”
Tate was first elected Mayor of the Gold Coast, Australia’s sixth-largest city, in 2012, and has since been re-elected for a second term in 2016 and a third term in 2020. He went on to say that while the transfer had not been confirmed, they were planning ahead.
“It sends a signal that we’re innovative and bring in the younger generation … [but] I’m not saying we’re doing it, I’m just saying we’re always looking at the next level.”
Critics have claimed, however, that the price volatility of cryptocurrencies in the midst of a market crisis could dampen the excitement for using cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
Blockchain Australia’s Adam Poulton told ABC News that the council would have to consider its risk appetite before accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.
“The last thing they’d want to do is receive $2,000 in rates, hold it in Bitcoin, and have the price of Bitcoin halve,” he explained.
The Mayor’s remarks come as a growing number of towns and countries around the world are considering enabling crypto and central bank digital currencies to be used to pay local taxes and fees.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis announced intentions in April to allow residents to pay taxes using the Sand Dollar, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Residents in three major Chinese cities have begun paying tax, stamp duty, and social security contributions using the country’s CBDC, or digital yuan, in the same month.
The Swiss city of Lugano, Buenos Aires, Colorado, Rio de Janeiro, and the Central African Republic are among the locations that have said they are contemplating or will be adopting cryptocurrency for tax payments.
