News & Insights

Home » News & Insights » Latest Developments in Paying your Doctor and Taxes with Cryptocurrency

Latest Developments in Paying your Doctor and Taxes with Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin and Blockchain, Finance and Securities

latest-developments

Cryptocurrency, originally dismissed by many as a temporary trend or a silly project by data miners, is finally coming out in full force as more of the public, businesses, and even local governments begin to accept digital currencies. For example, Coinbase, a platform which provides a means for trading cryptocurrencies, recently debuted on Nasdaq. [1] Additionally, Miami-Dade county residents may soon be able to use digital currency to pay for their taxes, fees, and services as the city commissioners recently voted in support of Mayor Francis Suarez’s resolution for a crypto infrastructure. [2]

Mayor Suarez’s resolution would provide the option for city employees to receive a portion of their salary in Bitcoin and for residents to pay for various fees in Bitcoin. Additionally, the city manager would have the authority to allow Miami county taxes to be paid in bitcoin. Miami City Hall would even use Bitcoin in some of its financial transactions. This would all be done through the creation of a new task force, which would determine the appropriate cryptocurrency vendor. [3] Although Ohio suspended its Bitcoin business tax payments program just a year after becoming the first state to do so in 2018, [4] a similar push by major city hubs now might result in a much higher participation rate due to Bitcoin’s increased acceptance by the general public.

Several major companies now accept Bitcoin payments as well. These include Microsoft, AT&T, Burger King, KFC, and Amazon. Many stores, such as Shopify.com and MovieTickets.com, also accept this form of payment. [5] Physician offices, such as plastic surgeons, are among the many businesses that have begun to accept Bitcoin. [6] A perfume house, Krigler, had even started accepting Bitcoin back in 2017, [7] and Krigler continues to accept Bitcoin through its website. [8]

Just as Miami may soon begin officially accepting Bitcoin payments from residents, New York City might also make a similar proposal after seeing more and more businesses begin to accept the currency.

[1] Jessica Matlin, “Plastic Surgeons Are Accepting Cryptocurrency”, Harper’s Bazaar, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/skin-care/a36157239/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-botox-plastic-surgery/, acc. 29 Apr. 2021.

[2] Kevin Helms, “Miami Going Full Bitcoin: City Supports Efforts to Hold Bitcoin in Treasury, Allow Tax Payments in BTC”, Bitcoin.com, 12 Feb. 2021, https://news.bitcoin.com/miami-bitcoin-city-supports-hold-bitcoin-in-treasury-tax-payments-btc/, acc. 29 Apr. 2021.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Joshua Ceballos, “Miami-Dade Commissioner Wants to Let Residents Pay Taxes With Cryptocurrency”, Miami New Times, 15 Apr. 2021, https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-dade-county-may-let-people-pay-taxes-with-bitcoin-12117680, acc. 30 Apr. 2021.

[5] Ofir Beigel, “Who Accepts Bitcoin as Payment?”, 99 Bitcoins, 7 Jan. 2021, https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/, acc. 30 Apr. 2021. Amazon indirectly allows bitcoin payments through Purse.io.

[6] Jessica Matlin, “Plastic Surgeons Are Accepting Cryptocurrency”, Harper’s Bazaar, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/skin-care/a36157239/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-botox-plastic-surgery/, acc. 29 Apr. 2021.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Krigler, https://www.krigler.com/, acc. 30 Apr. 2021.

Recent Posts

Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements Are Coming: What Your Business Should Know

For many businesses, new reporting requirements created under the federal Corporate Transparency Act are, as a recent Forbes headline put it, the “biggest issue you’ve never heard of.” The federal government is implementing rules that would require most entities...

The Gas Stove Debate: Issues NYC Condo and Co-Op Boards Should Consider

The debate over gas stoves has generated a great deal of heat on cable news networks and in the halls of Congress in recent weeks, but in New York City the question of whether to ban the use of fossil fuel-powered appliances has already been answered. In...

How Deferred Maintenance Guidelines Are Creating Compliance Challenges For Co-op and Condo Boards

Following the collapse of a high-rise condo building in Surfside, Fla., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said last year that they would not purchase loans for condo and co-op units in buildings with “significant deferred maintenance” or that have received a directive from a...

What Start-Up Companies Can Gain From An Outside General Counsel

Every company—no matter its size or stage of development—faces legal issues that would be best handled by an experienced in-house counsel. But for many start-up companies establishing a corporate legal department is difficult to justify when so many other operational...

NYC’s Greenhouse Gas Caps Are Coming: How Coop and Condo Boards Should Prepare

Condominium and cooperative boards have just one more year to prepare for strict new greenhouse gas emissions caps required under New York City’s Local Law 97. The law aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent starting in 2024 and then becomes more...