New York May Soon Allow Residents to Use Bitcoin and Ethereum to Pay Taxes and Fees

A proposed piece of legislation, introduced by Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, aims to update existing laws so that various state departments can accept cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment.

output: Assemblyman Clyde Vanel is advancing a bill that would permit New York residents to pay state services with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The proposed legislation, Assembly Bill A7788, aims to amend existing laws to allow various state departments to accept cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment.

Specifically, the bill would authorize the departments of Taxation and Finance, Motor Vehicles, Health, Education, Labor, and Social Services, as well as any city, town, village, or county in the state, to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) for taxes, penalties, fees, rent, and other charges due to the state.

To mitigate the technical costs associated with accepting digital currencies, the bill would grant the state the authority to apply a nominal service charge on transactions in these cryptocurrencies. However, this fee is capped at the actual cost of processing the transaction, which includes blockchain fees, third-party processor charges, and other relevant expenses.

Earlier this year, another bill, A06515, was introduced by Assemblywoman Yueng with the goal of cracking down on cryptocurrency fraud and deceptive schemes.

This initiative focused on illegal activities in the cryptocurrency sector, such as rug pulls, and aimed to stiffen penalties for such offenses.