Online retailer Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) announced that it will pay a portion of its Ohio state business taxes in Bitcoin (BTC-USD), starting from this year.
By paying taxes in Bitcoin, Overstock will be become the first major U.S. company to use Bitcoin for tax payment purpoases.
Overstock Bitcoin Tax Payment
The retailer will pay its commercial activity taxes in Ohio this February using OhioCrypto.com, which allows taxpayers to pay state business taxes with Bitcoin. Ohio is the first U.S. state to offer a cryptocurrency payment system for state business taxes.
“We have long thought that thoughtful governmental adoption of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies (when accompanied by non-restrictive legislation over these technologies) is the best way to ensure the U.S. does not lose our place at the forefront of the ever-advancing global economy,” Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said in statement.
“We are proud to partner with forward-thinking governments and officials like Ohio and Treasurer Mandel to help usher in an era of trust through technology for our nation’s essential financial systems,” Byrne added.
Overstock is bullish on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. It became the first major retailer to accept crypto for purchases on its website in 2014. That same year, the company established Medici Ventures, which focuses on applying blockchain technologies to existing industries to eliminate middlemen, “democratize capital,” and “rehumanize commerce.”
Ohio Accepts Bitcoin for 23 Types of Taxes
Ohio is the first state in the U.S. and the first governments in the world to accept Bitcoin for tax payments.
The state’s online platform called OhioCrypto.com allow businesses to pay taxes with cryptocurrency. Eligible for payment on the website include 23 different taxes.
Ohio has been working with BitPay to process cryptocurrency transactions. Payments made on OhioCrypto.com will be immediately converted to USD before being deposited into a state account, meaning that taxes will not be paid ultimately in Bitcoin, but rather Ohio is making it easier to convert Bitcoin into dollars for the purpose of paying taxes in US dollars.
Currently, Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency eligible for payment at OhioCrypto.com. Treasurer’s office plans to add other cryptocurrencies in the future.