Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian capital, will officially begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for urban estate-related taxes that come across their city limit, which is also known as Imposto Sobre, a propriedade predial e territorial Urbana (IPTU). These new pro-crypto tax rules will be officially implemented in 2023, and the news was declared by the Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification, Chicão Bulhões.
In order to exhibit the support of this pro-crypto movement guided by Eduardo Paes, the Brazilian Mayor, Changpeng Zhao, whom we know as the chief executive officer of the world’s one of the topmost exchange platforms, Binance, has decided to open a brand new office in the Brazilian capital. On his Twitter handle, CZ said that the Mayor had completed his part, and the company is working to fulfill their part.
With the help of this new pro-crypto initiative, the Brazilian capital will be the first one to roll out BTC payments mainstream. As per the announcement made by the Mayor’s office, companies that specialize in converting crypto assets into reais will be hired, and the municipal government will receive the taxes in 100 percent fiat currency.
The secretary of Brazil, Pedro Paulo, has further stated that the city is planning to help in the development of this new asset class and create a solid market for it. The circulation of cryptocurrencies will be stimulated by adding them as a payment method for paying taxes, and the whole process will begin from IPTU. Later on, the crypto payment services will be amalgamated with other areas such as taxi races.
Rio de Janeiro is also planning to include non-fungible tokens (NFT)-based governance policies that can boost the overall product market of tourism, arts and culture.
