Australian City Wants to Allow Use of Cryptocurrencies to Pay Taxes

The mayor of the Australian city of Gold Coast, Tom Tate, has said that in the future residents may be able to pay taxes in digital assets, ABC News has learned. He has said:

“Why can’t you pay taxes in cryptocurrency if the risk is small? Volatility isn’t that bad. We are innovative. We are always looking to the next level.”

The official has announced the board intends to hire a chief investment officer to “encourage innovation.”

The comment was made shortly before the adoption of the budget for Australia’s sixth largest city, home to 679,000 residents.

Tom Tate was been appointed for a third term in 2020.

Adam Poulton from Blockchain Australia has noted the board needs to analyze risk appetite before deciding whether to accept cryptocurrency as payment. He has explained:

“The last thing what they would like to do is to receive taxes in the equivalent of $2,000 in bitcoin and face a halving of its price.”