A series of new bills introduced by state Senator Wendy Rogers aims to make bitcoin legal tender in Arizona and allow state agencies to accept bitcoin.
Proposed legislation would allow Bitcoin to be recognized as a legal form of currency, meaning any transaction done in U.S. dollars could potentially be done in Bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.09%, allowing individuals and businesses to pay taxes, debts, and use Bitcoins for purchases.
In the Legal Tender Act, "Bitcoin" is defined as "a decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency in which records of transactions are kept on the Bitcoin blockchain and new currency units are created by computational solutions to mathematical problems, independent of central The bank operates."
Another bill on state agencies states that state agencies may “enter into agreements with issuers of cryptocurrencies to provide a means to accept cryptocurrencies as payment of fines, civil or other penalties, rents, rates, taxes, fees , fees, revenues, financial obligations, and special assessments to pay any sums due to the agency or to the State.”
Sen. Rogers introduced a similar bill in 2022, but it didn't make it to second reading. Most recently, new legislation proposed by Senators Wendy Rogers, Sonny Borrelli and Justine Wadsack would let voters decide in 2024 whether virtual currencies should be tax-exempt property. Public debt, certain household goods, and all federal, state, county, and municipal property are currently tax-exempt in Arizona.
The document, which defines virtual currencies as tokens that do not represent U.S. dollars or foreign currencies, is not the first crypto tax-related document in the state. In 2018, it was proposed to allow residents to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies. The bill was ultimately defeated in May 2018. More states are starting to discuss potential use cases for Bitcoin. Recently, legislators in Mississippi and Missouri introduced laws protecting citizens’ right to mine bitcoin. Likewise, in December, a New Hampshire commission recommended a statewide energy plan for bitcoin mining.
