Come January 2018, the Swiss municipality of Chiasso will allow residents to pay their taxes in bitcoin.
Announced by the town’s municipal website, the decision to accept bitcoin payments took shape after Chiasso mayor Bruno Arrigoni met with cryptocurrency experts and blockchain companies, as well as local entrepreneurs, from the region.
The city’s municipality will accept payments of up to 250 Swiss Francs (approx. $260) in bitcoin as a part of the scheme.
In roughly translated statements, Mayor Arrigoni said:
Chiasso is recognized internationally as the epicenter of a growing technological and economic growth for both the canton and in Switzerland. In the last few months, 8 startups have chosen to establish their headquarters in Chiasso.
The limit exceeds that of the 200 Swiss Francs enforced by Zug, a lakeside town commonly referred to as Switzerland’s ‘Crypto Vallet’ in the country’s north. Chiasso, now branding itself as “CryptoPolis”, is aiming to center itself as an alternative destination to Zug’s Crypto Valley. Zug, which allows citizens to pay with bitcoin for municipality services, does not accept the cryptocurrency for tax payments.
According to one report, Zug has received over 40 bitcoin payments since July 1, 2016, a feat that has exceeded the authorities’ expectations.
In joining the arena of competing cantons (federal states) in Switzerland, the federal state of Ticino could soon see its very own digital currency if two local computer scientists had their way.