Buenos Aires plans to enable tax payment with cryptocurrencies

The move is part of a broader digitalization plan for Buenos Aires, which was announced by Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta.

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Argentina’s cosmopolitan capital capital is most commonly defined as the large sum of money you would use to invest. is moving to allow its residents to pay taxes with Bitcoin the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency in the world. It is a decentralized digital currency that enables users to make trustless peer-to-peer transactions. .

This was announced Tuesday by the head of government of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, who unveiled a new plan for the city that includes the incorporation of the option a contract giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price. of paying taxes with digital currencies.

The project is part of a broader strategy of the government of Buenos Aires called “. Buenos Aires + “ which seeks the total digitization of citizen procedures. In addition to adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments, the plan also envisages implementing digital identity, virtual marriages and the use of technology. Blockchain a distributed ledger system. A sequence of blocks, or units of digital information, stored consecutively in a public database. The basis for cryptocurrencies. to take care of the security the term securities refers to a fungible and tradable financial instrument that carries a type of monetary value. of its citizens’ data.

“ Buenos Aires+ is a concrete plan to continue modernizing, streamlining and making more efficient the way in which citizens and the private sector interact with the State. “explained the mayor in a thread on tweets .

This does not imply that the City will have cryptos in its public accounts but that, through an agreement with virtual wallets, we will add one more payment option to all the existing ones. And, of course, we will continue working to lower taxes.

– Horacio Rodríguez Larreta (@horaciorlarreta) April 26, 2022

Paying taxes with crypto in Buenos Aires

The mayor had already advanced the plans earlier this week during an online conference, according to local media. iProUp . “ The Buenos Aires Government decided, among other things, implement tax payments with cryptocurrencies “Larreta said at the time.

In his announcement on Tuesday, the mayor clarified that the move does not imply that Buenos Aires will keep cryptocurrencies in its treasury. . Instead, he explained that through an agreement with companies in the sector, will seek to incorporate digital currencies to existing tax payment options. Larreta did not advance the names of the companies or cryptocurrencies that will be accepted.

Instead, he cited data on the adoption of the asset class in the country. As reported by the news agency El País Larreta said that Argentina has 2% of the world’s population that uses cryptocurrencies, the equivalent of 2 million people in the South American country. The mayor gave the data in a presentation at the Teatro San Martín.

But the adoption of digital assets is just one part of the plan, which also envisages the use of technology Blockchain . Tax payments with cryptocurrencies are the “. ninth step The head of government said, “I’m very proud of the ambitious digital modernization plan for the capital.

Digital identity and Blockchain technology

The first measure will be the implementation of a system of “. Self-sovereign Digital digital technologies are these electronic tools that have the ability to generate, store or even process data. Identity The “Identity Card”, a digital identification tool for the citizens of Buenos Aires. Through an application, people will be able to digitally authenticate their identity and also have access, in one place, to their information, documentation documentation is a part of token economies that stores all the details of an asset on the blockchain. and personal records.

Rodríguez Larreta affirmed that all this flow of data, documentation and information will be protected by means of the incorporation of technology. Blockchain to the public administration. “ We will be pioneers in the use of this technology. “ said the mayor. iProUp quoted part of Larreta’s statements at the presentation:

We want to present the Buenos Aires + plan. We want to accompany citizens so that they have a Self-sovereign Digital Identity. That is why we will be applying Blockchain to authenticate the identity of citizens and thus access all their documentation.

As part of the plan, the Buenos Aires government’s public administration will adopt blockchain technology to boost digitization. According to reports, the city hopes that by 2023, 90% of its procedures can be carried out virtually.

“ I believe that Blockchain technology will give the government the ability to make all its actions more transparent and encourage citizen participation in a more profound way. “Diego Fernández, Secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation, said about the initiative.

Other cities also adopt Bitcoin

According to El País The program also envisages the expansion of the so-called “ Digital Islands “The government is also planning to digitalize health care with the implementation of digital appointments in the public health system and the expansion of complaint channels. At the same time, it plans to digitize health with the implementation of digital appointments in the public system and the expansion of complaint channels.

The news comes at a time when a large number of cities around the world are looking to adopt cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology. A few weeks ago, the government ofRío de Janeiro, en Brasil, anunció which also plans to incorporate Bitcoin and other digital assets as a payment option for some tax rates from 2023.

In the United States, several cities have already pursued similar initiatives. Colorado , Florida y Austin (Texas) are among the jurisdictions in that country that this year have moved forward with plans to accept tax payments in cryptocurrencies.