DeSantis: Florida May Soon Accept Crypto for State Business Taxes

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has said that steps were being taken so that his state could accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for business tax payments. 

Florida to Accept Crypto

The state of Florida might soon accept digital assets for business taxes. 

Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis said: 

“We are working, and I’ve told the state agencies: figure out ways where if a business wants to pay tax in cryptocurrency to Florida, we should be willing to accept that. So we’re working through that.”

He concluded his talk of crypto on a strong note, saying that “we will accept Bitcoin.” 

DeSantis also revealed his skepticism toward a central bank digital currency. While he embraced decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin, he cautioned about “what some are talking about doing at the federal level to convert U.S. dollars into basically a digital currency.” 

Governor DeSantis opined:

“I think there’s a lot of hazards with that when that’s centrally controlled. I worry about the amount of power that that would give someone in a central authority to basically be able to shut off access to purchasing certain goods.”  

He supported this view by mentioning the financial institutions that have “cut people off” at the “behest of government.”

Finally, Governor DeSantis noted how he was “very concerned” about the Executive Order on crypto assets that President Biden recently signed, though he did not expand on this concern. 

Last month, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado said his state would accept cryptocurrencies for tax payments by this summer. However, these state tax payments would first be converted to fiat currency. Both Wyoming and Arizona seem to have similar plans. 

Within Florida, politicians in certain cities have a pro-crypto stance. Miami’s mayor, Francis Suarez, teased last November the idea of distributing Bitcoin yield to the city’s residents, apparently made possible by CityCoins. He also introduced a plan that would allow him and other city employees to accept their paychecks in Bitcoin, something that Tampa’s mayor, Jane Castor, has also expressed an interest in. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and several other cryptocurrencies.