Matt Gaetz says bitcoin and crypto will modernize the financial system, and that the U.S. Treasury should keep up technologically.
A popular Republican congressman introduced legislation that would require the United States Treasury to accept tax payments in bitcoin.
Pay Taxes With Bitcoin
The bill, authored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), would order the Treasury Secretary to “develop and implement a method to allow for the payment with bitcoin of any tax imposed on an individual.”
The legislation marks the first official national-level efforts from a U.S. politician to bring bitcoin closer to being a form of legal tender. The state of Colorado already has the use of crypto for tax payments.
The other half of that equation would involve scrapping capital gains taxes on BTC sales – something Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made one of his campaign promises.
According to Gaetz, enabling bitcoin tax payments would promote innovation while increasing flexibility and payment efficiency for American citizens.
“This is a bold step toward a future where digital currencies play a vital role in our financial system, ensuring that the U.S. remains at the forefront of technological advancement,” the congressman said over Twitter.
The legislation would allow the Treasury to prescribe regulations to best assist its accommodation of bitcoin payments, including a requirement that all payments immediately be converted into US dollars.
The bill follows Gaetz’s recent visit to El Salvador to attend the second inauguration of President Nayib Bukele, who established Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar back in 2021.
In a press release, Gaetz said he was inspired by El Salvador’s vision for the digital currency, which has “helped promote financial stability and job creation in Central America.”
The Bitcoin Election
With U.S. Presidential elections only five months away, candidates are ramping up their appeals to crypto investors and the broader industry.
Ex-president Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to end President Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “war on crypto” if elected, promising to guarantee citizens’ rights to control their own coins. He has also called for the United States to dominate the Bitcoin mining industry and help make the nation “energy dominant.”
Biden’s appeals have been less consistent. While recently vetoing a pro-crypto-banking bill passed by both chambers of Congress, he recently opened his campaign to crypto donations in partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase – an effort thoroughly lambasted by the online community.