Florida Tax Collector to Accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash Payments

A Florida county tax collector has partnered with bitcoin payments processor BitPay to accept cryptocurrency for a variety of services.

Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg said in a statement Monday that his office will take bitcoin and bitcoin cash for payments associated with driver licenses and ID cards, automobile tags and titles and property tax.

The office decided to accept the cryptocurrencies in an effort to streamline fee collection, reduce the potential for fraud and identity theft and increase the transparency and accuracy of payments.

Greenberg's office added that it does not perceive any "Price volatility or risk to the County" in accepting the cryptocurrencies.

"The aim of my tenure in office is to make our customer experience faster, smarter and more efficient, and to bring government services from the 18th century into the 21st century and one way is the addition of cryptocurrency to our payment options."

"The collaboration with the Seminole County Tax Collector marks BitPay's first government partnership. Head of compliance Jeremie Beaudry said the company was launched because"we recognized the potential for blockchain to revolutionize the financial industry, making payments faster, more secure and less expensive on a global scale.

"With the Seminole County Tax Collector's office, we have engaged our first government agency to accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash by making it easy and seamless for them," he added.

Greenberg's office is not the only local government entity that has entertained the idea of accepting cryptocurrency for taxes.

Arizona and Georgia lawmakers both proposed bills this year that would allow citizens to pay their state tax liabilities in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, though neither bill made it through their respective legislatures.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.