The state of Arizona is slowly but surely rolling out the red carpet for widespread crypto adoption as its senators seek to increase the usefulness of crypto.
To say that Senator Wendy Rogers of Arizona is bullish on crypto would be an understatement. The senator has submitted two more cryptocurrency bills to be passed by the Arizona Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives. This follows last week’s submission in the Grand Canyon state to make bitcoin legal tender.
What is proposed in the new bills?
The two new bills are SB1127 and SB1128. SB1127 deals with amendments to Section 1, Title 35, Chapter 1, Article 3 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. It proposes that a state agency be permitted to enter into an agreement to receive payment for fines, civil or other penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue and other obligations. The person making the payment is liable for interest, payments, and penalties until the state agency receives the full amount. SB1127 is built on the foundation of a 2018 bill that allows residents of the state to pay income tax in specific cryptocurrencies.
SB1128 proposes a tax exemption for “virtual currency”, defined as a representation of value that is not a fiat currency and is a unit of account, store of value, or medium of exchange.
SB1127 will need to be approved by the Arizona Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives. The second will depend on the outcome of a future general election, where voters will have their say regarding the exemption of virtual currency from the IRS-deemed wealth tax scheme.
SB1127 will allow payments to be made in bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum and bitcoincash, among others.
Starting the Red Carpet for Crypto
A bill called SB1341 was issued last week by Senator Rogers to make BTC legal tender. It can see that citizens are receiving salaries in bitcoin and companies are using it as they see fit. This could prove to be an uphill battle for Rogers, as the US Constitution does not allow individual states to use anything other than US dollars. The coinage clause authorizes Congress to specifically define “legal tender.” According to a tweet“I want to make Arizona the most bitcoin and crypto-friendly state,” Rogers said. She faces the prospect of Texas gubernatorial candidate Don Huffins in the crypto race, who has vowed to make bitcoin legal tender if he is voted into office. It will be interesting to see if a state like President Nayb Bukele buys its own bitcoin and whether it can tolerate the crypto’s inherent volatility.
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