Próspera, a special economic zone located in Roatan, Honduras, has formally acknowledged Bitcoin as a unit of account, enabling its utilization in the valuation of products and services on the market less than two years after its adoption as legal tender.
On January 5, Jorge Colindres, the interim manager and tax commissioner of Próspera ZEDE (Zone for Employment and Economic Development), spearheaded the initiative.
Colindres stated in a January 7 post on X (previously Twitter) that the intention was to provide greater financial independence to local enterprises and individuals.
“At @ProsperaZEDE we believe in the right to financial freedom and monetary freedom. People should be free to carry out transactions, do their accounting and report taxes in the currency of their free choice.”
The advancement enables the utilization of BTC as a medium of exchange to quantify the market worth of diverse commodities and services within the Próspera region.
Unfortunately, Colindres cannot execute the “Final BTC Tax Payment Procedure” at this time, citing technological constraints with its eGovernance system and external regulatory concerns.
For now, tax obligations of entities that elect to use Bitcoin will be calculated in BTC for internal accounting purposes. However, these obligations will be reported to Próspera ZEDE in either Honduras lempira or United States dollars.
Colindres noted that once the issues are resolved, entities will submit their tax liabilities to Próspera ZEDE in BTC and remit the corresponding payments.
Those wishing to designate BTC as their unit of account must notify the Próspera’s tax commission in writing within thirty days of the applicable tax period.
According to Colindres, the notification should mention a sanctioned cryptocurrency exchange, like Coinbase or Kraken.
As of May 2020, Próspera ZEDE was operational on the island of Roatan in the north. In April 2022, the region adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, approximately seven months after El Salvador, a neighboring country of Honduras, implemented the same measure throughout the entire nation in September 2021.
Próspera ZEDE, which Colindres recently dubbed one of the “most competitive special regimes” in Latin America, has reportedly generated over 3,000 jobs nationwide and received over $100 million during its three-year tenure.
