Canadian Municipality Set to Accept Bitcoin for Property Tax Payments

A municipality in Canada is set to accept bitcoin for property tax payments starting next month as part of a one-year trial.

The Town of Innisfil, Ontario, announced Thursday that the cryptocurrency payment option will be offered in partnership with Toronto-based digital assets trading platform Coinberry.

Starting April, approximately 36,000 residents of the town will now see bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option on the municipality’s website. Other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and XRP could also be added in the future, according to the statement.

Using Coinberry’s cryptocurrency payment processing solution Coinberry Pay, residents will be able to pay taxes in bitcoin in Innisfil’s digital wallet.

Coinberry will then process those funds “in accordance with strict adherence to existing financial regulatory requirements” and “instantly” convert them into Canadian dollars and transfer it to the municipality. Coinberry is a Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)-registered firm.

Innisfil mayor Lynn Dollin said:

“There’s no doubt that cryptocurrency is growing in usage and popularity. By getting into this now, we are making sure our municipality is ahead of the game, and signalling to the world that we truly are a future-ready and innovative community.”

Back in November, the U.S. state of Ohio also allowed businesses to pay taxes in bitcoin, in partnership blockchain payments processor BitPay. Ohio is also expected to extend the service to individuals in the future.

Canada dollar, bitcoin image via Shutterstock