Swiss Canton of Zug To Accept Taxes in Bitcoin, Ethereum

Citizens of the crypto-friendly region Canton of Zug in Switzerland can now pay their taxes using Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a press release today.

The self-styled “crypto valley” is home to many crypto trading firms, exchanges, crypto banks, blockchain companies, and even the Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit entity that oversees the Ethereum network. And now, it’s taking its crypto aspirations a step ahead.

“Tax settlement by means of cryptocurrency will be available to both companies and private individuals up to an amount of 100,000 Swiss francs ($109,670),” the Zug canton said in a statement on Thursday.

To make this possible, the region has partnered with Zug-based crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse AG, which will convert the Bitcoin or Ethereum into Swiss francs and then transfer the amount to the state.

Bitcoin Suisse founder Niklas Nikolajsen said the crypto market has grown too big to ignore, and that he sees more crypto adoption in the traditional quarters. “Everybody cares about a $0.5 trillion market. There’s almost nothing controversial about trading Bitcoin anymore. It’s completely mainstream,” said Nikolajsen.

He added in a statement to news outlet Bloomberg, “With Bitcoin rallying during the pandemic and experts saying it could even act as an inflation hedge, the industry’s bellwethers might change their minds again.”

The Zug region offers low corporate taxes for all companies and has been accepting Bitcoin payments for certain government services since 2016, making it an attractive destination for crypto entrepreneurs. 

But crypto’s not all it’s doing. Zug even held Switzerland’s first blockchain-based municipal ballot in a test in 2018 and piloted a digital identity project using the technology in 2019. Clearly there’s more to come.