Miami Commissioner Wants to Let Residents Pay Taxes in Bitcoin

Miami-Dade County commissioners have supported a new resolution that would allow residents to pay local taxes using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).

According to documents Thursday obtained by Miami New Times, County Commissioner Cohen Higgins introduced a resolution to Miami-Dade’s Infrastructure, Operations and Innovation Committee to create a 13-member encryption task force.

The task force will study the feasibility of allowing residents to pay county taxes and fees and services using digital currencies including Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC). According to the document, crypto payments have the “potential to enhance convenience and save costs.”

“This project will form a working group to study the feasibility of using cryptocurrency in Miami-Dade County to explore any potential benefits and pitfalls that may arise from using cryptocurrency. It will be important to explore all avenues that can support expanding technology and startups to benefit our economy,” Higgins said.

The proposal will go before the Miami-Dade Commission at noon local time Thursday. If the resolution passes, it must still be approved by the full county commission.

The resolution refers to a similar initiative enacted by the Miami City Council on Feb. 11, which called for a study to determine the feasibility of allowing Miami residents to pay taxes and city employees to receive salaries in Bitcoin. The resolution was proposed by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who is actively campaigning to make the city a crypto hotspot in the United States.

Hemang Subramanian, a blockchain-focused assistant professor at Florida International University's College of Business, said cryptocurrencies could be attractive to Miami residents because of the city's large population. Because cryptocurrencies are stored in digital wallets and are not tied to a specific country, foreign investors and residents can convert their local currencies into U.S. dollars and vice versa without having to pay conversion fees.