Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second-largest city, intends to take Bitcoin payments for property taxes, notably the tax on property and urban territory (IPTU), Chico Bulhoes, the Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation, and Simplification, indicated that new cryptocurrency tax law will be implemented in 2023.
Bitcoin for tax payment in Rio de Janeiro
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, confirmed on Twitter the launch of a new Binance office in the zone in collaboration with the town’s mayor, Eduardo Paes. The plan intends to convert the city into “Crypto Rio,” since it will be the first in the country to accept Bitcoin for tax bills. Anyone who invests in cryptocurrency and resides in Rio will be allowed to use cryptocurrency to pay their taxes in the city of Rio.
9 days ago, I made a handshake deal with mayor @eduardopaes. Rio De Janeiro will accept crypto for tax payments, and @Binance will open an office in Rio. He's done his part. We are working on ours. https://t.co/HPJONtBfQ8
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) March 26, 2022
According to the town’s mayor Paes:
Our objective here is to guarantee that Rio has formal procedures that recognise the crypto business.
According to Pedro Paulo, Rio de Janeiro’s secretary of finance and development:
“the city also intends to implement NFT-based governance rules in other areas such as art and tourism. In the long term, we will use crypto-assets to enhance the arts, culture, and tourism through the use of NFTs, as well as establish a robust and responsible regulatory policy to evaluate the fulfilment of crypto investments.”
Brazil is making numerous pushes in the crypto market at the same time. The Central Bank of Brazil, Banco Central do Brasil (BACEN), is also actively working on the establishment of ‘Real Digital,’ a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).