Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, arrives to speak before former President Donald Trump at a rally in support of the campaign of Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance at Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at Dayton International Airport on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A new bill is circulating in Washington that would allow people and companies in the United States to pay federal taxes in bitcoin. Rep. Warren Davidson introduced the Bitcoin for America Act on Thursday, which he said would not only allow taxes to be paid in bitcoin, but would also direct those payments into the U.S.’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The Ohio Republican said the bill would give the government a “stronger financial foundation,” in a statement.
“The Bitcoin For America Act will position our country to lead—not follow—as the world navigates the future of sound money and digital innovation,” Davidson said. Months into his administration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve created from about 200,000 bitcoin already owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil proceedings, subtracting those that still need to be returned to victims of crimes. Since then, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to codify a strategic bitcoin reserve into law.
Davidson told the Bitcoin Policy Institute that the bill would allow both people and corporate taxpayers to pay taxes in bitcoin. The lawmaker also said people could then decide how they want their taxes to be spent if they pay in bitcoin. Instead of money going to foreign aid or other areas, it would be allocated to the strategic reserve, he added.
When asked about whether the bill would be diverting tax dollars, Davidson said paying taxes in bitcoin could be a way to “send a clear message to the government. This would be a way to say — yeah, let’s talk about what kind of government we ought to have,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people that want way less government and far more freedom.” Of note, earlier this year, Detroit became the largest city in the U.S. to allow residents to pay taxes and other city fees in crypto.
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