Montana bill backing digital currency miners inked into law

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Miners in the State of Montana have heaved a sigh of relief after the government signed a new bill into law seeking to prevent local authorities from issuing discrimination regulations against them.

Official records reveal that Montana Governor Greg Gianforte appended his signature to the bill on May 2 after lengthy scrutiny from both state legislative houses. Dubbed S.B. 178, the new law is largely an amendment of the existing state legislature that precludes state authorities from imposing different electrical rates for digital currency mining firms.

Montana’s Right to Mine also touches on digital currency taxation when used as means of payment, a move hailed across the local industry. The bill was sponsored by State Senator Daniel Zolnikov, and its provisions broached energy, property, tax, local government, and financial institution sectors.

Analysts have pointed out that the new law is a belated response to the increasing opposition of digital asset miners across the U.S. In April, Texas introduced a bill seeking to reduce the miners’ incentives in a program designed to compensate them for electricity reductions by the local grid administrator.

In Mississippi, attempts to codify the rights of digital currency miners ran out of steam in March, but enthusiasts are optimistic about rejuvenation in the coming months. On the national level, the White House is pining for a 30% tax on digital currency mining in next year’s budget proposal.

“Digital asset mining has often faced difficulty with regulation at the state and local level,” read a synopsis of Montana’s new law.

The law bears a striking similarity to legislation passed by Arkansas that grants digital asset miners the same rights as data centers. The law stipulates that miners will have to pay applicable taxes in the same manner as data centers but must “operate in a manner that causes no stress on an electric public utility’s generation capabilities or transmission network.”

The White House cracks down on miners

The latest reports from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) suggest the White House is pushing for a Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax following its negative environmental impact.

The proposed tax framework has since triggered an uproar among industry stakeholders, with Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter describing the move as “unfair and discriminatory.” He added that a 30% tax policy would shift the bulk of Web3 jobs and growth out of the country despite the U.S. being the largest hash rate provider for BTC.

“Imagine if we put a 30% tax on internet companies in the ’90s,” said Porter. “It would have ensured all the jobs and economic growth occurred outside the USA.”

Watch: Think of Bitcoin mining as financial self-discipline