Switzerland has always been one to open its heart to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In its latest maneuver of “digital love,” the ski resort Zermatt – based in Switzerland – has announced that it will now allow its residents to pay taxes in BTC.
Zermatt Is Taking a Big Digital Step Forward
Zermatt is a very small town, consisting of just over 5,000 souls, but that doesn’t mean it can’t make a difference in the world of digital finance. Bills for government services, work permits, and taxes can now be settled and paid for using the world’s number one cryptocurrency by market cap.
To do so, individuals are required to consult with Bitcoin Suisse AG, a crypto broker that utilizes a unique tablet to initiate payments and settle debts. The tablet has the power to turn crypto into francs. It then forwards the money to the appropriate party.
Switzerland is widely appreciated in the crypto community given its low and easy-going tax protocols for blockchain businesses. It’s even home to what some have affectionately dubbed “Crypto Valley,” a region that houses several blockchain and crypto-centered businesses and startups.
The area takes its name from Silicon Valley in Northern California, which boasts some of the world’s largest tech enterprises including Google, Facebook and Apple. Crypto Valley does the same thing only instead of being devoted to big tech, it looks to propel crypto’s presence in Europe and abroad.
In fact, it was Zug – the city that Crypto Valley calls home – that gave Zermatt the idea to begin accepting crypto tax payments. First pledged in the year 2016, the city has finally managed to enforce the necessary legislation to make it happen.
In an interview, the town’s mayor Romy Bliner-Hauser said that she isn’t expecting the technology to catch on very quickly. While she’s curious about bitcoin, she thinks people will be slow to accept the notion of paying their taxes in crypto, though she’s confident this could change within the coming years.
She explains:
Everyone is talking about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and if you don’t try it out, you don’t get smarter.
How Soon Will Things Change?
He words allude to the idea that cryptocurrency and blockchain will rebuild the financial space as we know into something totally different within the next ten years. Many would agree with this sentiment including Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, who has not only worked hard at implementing new bitcoin applications but has gone so far as to suggest that bitcoin will become the world’s “single currency” by the year 2028.
Despite this news, Switzerland has shown itself to be picky when it comes to which crypto projects it will support. Libra, apparently, is not necessarily one of them given that the country’s finance minister Ueli Maurer referred to the coin as a “failure” in a recent statement.
