Arizona senator introduces bill exempting digital currencies from property taxes

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Arizona wants to become the most digital currency-friendly state in the United States, with a new proposed bill seeking to exempt Bitcoin from property taxes and make it legal tender. The bill further aims to protect the right of Arizona residents to run a node on any blockchain network.

The new bill was presented by Wendy Rogers, a Republican member of the Arizona state Senate. First, it proposes making digital currencies legal tender for use in paying for any goods or services without infringement.

My bill SCR1013 amends the Arizona Constitution so that it reinforces our rights to hold digital currency and other mutually agreed upon mediums of exchange. #BTC #Bitcoin https://t.co/ZHl3snwBQs pic.twitter.com/ZuYUC7Fjrk

— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) January 31, 2022

“This state may not prohibit or encumber the ownership or holding of any form or amount of money or other currency,” according to the bill.

This proposal, even if voted for by the Arizona Senate, will be going against the U.S. constitution. Under ‘Limits on Issuing Legal Tender,’ the constitution bars any state from “making anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts.”

Currently, only El Salvador has made a digital currency legal tender in 2021, a decision that unsurprisingly turned out to be disastrous for the Central American nation. However, President Nayib Bukele has continued to tout the benefits of BTC and has even been forking out tens of millions of dollars every other week to buy more BTC for speculative purposes.

Some digital currency skeptics have dismissed the bill, saying it’s just a publicity stunt that will not amount to much. 

“I see this as much more of a stunt than genuine shakeup,” Digital Fiat Currency Institute’s Rohan Grey said, deeming the move as unconstitutional. Grey’s organization lobbies for the issuance of a sovereign digital dollar. 

Senator Rogers further proposes that state agencies in Arizona should “accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for fines, civil penalties or other penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations and special assessments to pay any amount due to that agency or this state.”

Aside from payments, the senator wants the state to exempt digital currencies from property taxes, a proposal that some thought leaders in the digital currency industry fully support.

This is huge @WendyRogersAZ. Thank you for taking a forward-thinking position on tax policy and its impact on disruptive financial technology.

Another thought: remove the need to report transactions under a penny.

Nano are a force for good! https://t.co/hVazSkFUk4

— Kurt Wuckert Jr | GorillaPool.com (@kurtwuckertjr) February 1, 2022

On the blockchain, the bill seeks to protect the right of any Arizona resident to participate as a node operator, stating, “A city or town may not prohibit or otherwise restrict an 8 individual from running a node on blockchain technology in a residence.”

Watch: CoinGeek New York panel, Government & Public Sector Applications on Blockchain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGw6rBv7nlc&t=12716s