Swiss canton of Zug starts accepting tax payments in cryptocurrency

The Swiss canton of Zug now allows its residents to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

Bitcoin Suisse, a local crypto broker that enabled the new opportunity in partnership with the canton, announced Feb. 17 that the crypto payment option has rolled out this week.

The administration of the canton of Zug placed an official memo for the new tax payment option on its official website, providing detailed video instructions for paying tax bills with crypto.

“This step forward for crypto adoption has been enabled by the pioneering work from the Zug cantonal tax office using the Bitcoin Suisse Crypto Payments solution. It is yet another sign of innovation in Blockchain Nation CH,” Bitcoin Suisse wrote.

The canton of Zug initially announced its plans to start accepting crypto for tax payment in September 2020, offering the new payment option to local companies and individuals.

Widely referred to as the “Crypto Valley” for its positive stance towards crypto, the canton of Zug started experimenting with crypto payments about five years ago. In May 2016, the city of Zug piloted Bitcoin payments for public services with a payment limit of up to 200 francs.

Zug is not the first location in Switzerland to support crypto tax payments. Zermatt, a municipality in the district in the canton of Valais, rolled out a Bitcoin tax payment option in partnership with Bitcoin Suisse in January 2020.