Rio de Janeiro is one of South America’s most famous cities. Now, it has made an announcement that its citizens will be able to pay their taxes using cryptocurrency. The move is unprecedented in this country, as it recognizes the growing popularity of cryptocurrency. This is part of a strategy that will see the city invest some of its future funds in cryptocurrency assets.
Rio de Janeiro Will Expand Its Tax Payment Options
Rio de Janeiro has announced plans to allow cryptocurrency payments for its taxes. The municipality’s officers announced plans to begin collecting cryptocurrency for the IPTU municipal tax next year at a meeting where Eduardo Paes was present. It is collected by the municipality and relates to citizens’ property and value.
Rio de Janeiro is now the first Brazilian city to allow cryptocurrency payment for taxes. The city must rely on third parties to process these payments and convert them into fiat currency to achieve this goal according to a press release. This will allow users to use crypto and receive Brazilian reals.
Eduardo Paes declared:
This is our effort to show that the official initiative in Rio recognizes this market. Investors in cryptocurrency who live in Rio can now spend the money here, and pay official taxes in Rio. And we’re going to move forward quickly.
Plans for the Future
However, the city’s plan for cryptocurrency integration does not stop there. Pedro Paulo is the secretary for Finance and Planning Rio and stated that plans are in place to expand services using this new payment method. Paulo stated:
The future may see this extended to taxi rides and other services. We will also use crypto assets for arts and culture through NFTs. Additionally, we will create solid governance policies to assess the realisation of crypto investments.
The Rio City will establish a new organization, the Municipal Committee for Crypto Investments. This institution will examine the best ways to convert city funds into crypto, while complying with all laws governing public spending. The city had announced this plan in January, stating that 1% of the city’s funds would be put in crypto at that time.
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