Currently, people are effectively able to pay their tax bill in any one of hundreds of currencies. If you have a Visa card or a Mastercard card denominated in any one of roughly 200 different currencies, you can use that account to pay your taxes. When you pay your taxes, the Visa and Mastercard system debits your account in your currency, and converts the money to Manx Pounds, with the Manx Pounds credited to the Isle of Man Government’s bank account by a payment processor.
It’s time to allow people to also have the option of using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to pay their tax bill in an equivalent process. This is already happening in Switzerland and we have a great opportunity for the Isle of Man to lead the world in the safe, secure and sensible adoption of new technology.
The Isle of Man Government does not need to hold cryptocurrency, but rather can allow local Manx businesses which are already regulated by the Isle of Man’s Financial Services Authority to serve as payment processors – just as other payment processors already convert from hundreds of other currencies into Manx Pounds when they pay taxes by debit/credit cards.
The key benefits to Manx taxpayers:
- Allow Manx-based, global businesses, to use a borderless payment method;
- Benefit from early adopter privileges to lead the world;
- Reduced data theft risk as less sensitive customer data is stored;
- Faster settlement;
- No chargeback risks;
- Allow Manx businesses to lead in providing secure services;
- Low transactions costs.
Of course, no one would be required to use cryptocurrency to pay tax bills.
