Taxes on residential and commercial real estate within the borders of Rio de Janeiro, also known as Imposto sobre a propiedade predial e territorial urbana (IPTU), can be paid in Bitcoin (BTC), following the latest announcement of the Brazilian government.
The new pro-crypto tax legislation will come into effect starting in 2023, as revealed by Chico Bulhes, the country’s Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification.
Work from anywhere = Rio! Welcome @binance… Rio on blockchain! @eduardopaes https://t.co/NJEArEvEXV
— Chicão (@ChicaoBulhoes) March 26, 2022
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, announced the opening of a new office in the region in support of the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, noting that “He’s done his part. We are working on ours.”
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
With the implementation of this plan, Riode Janeiro will become the first Brazilian city to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. According to the translated announcement:
“To enable the operation, the municipality will hire companies specialized in converting crypto assets into reais. In this way, the City Hall will receive 100% of the amount in the currency.”
Further, Brazilian secretary Pedro Paulo stated that the city’s goal is to build a strong market for cryptocurrencies in the city, which will be made possible by the acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
“We will stimulate the circulation of cryptocurrencies by integrating them into the payment of taxes, as in the case of IPTU and, in the future, this can be expanded to services such as taxi races, for example.”
The city also intends to implement NFT-based governance policies in a number of different sectors, including arts, culture, and tourism.
Meta, the world’s largest social media platform, filed a trademark registration with the Brazilian authorities on January 29 to design, develop and provide hardware and software for a variety of Bitcoin and crypto-currency-related services.