California Bill Set To Legalize Crypto for Tax Payments From Cannabis-Related Businesses
The United States state of California Lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow cannabis-related business to pay fees and taxes in stablecoins. The bill was introduced by the California State Assembly on February 21st
Assembly Bill 953 would allow the state, city and county tax offices in California to accept stablecoins from cannabis-related companies seeking to pay their excise or cultivation taxes, with effect from January 1st 2020. The bill reads:
“The bill would authorize that city or county in determining that method to either accept stablecoins directly into a digital wallet controlled by that jurisdiction or to utilize a third-party digital asset payment processor that allows for the immediate conversion of any payments made by stablecoins into United States dollars and deposit into an account of that jurisdiction.”
It is no news that Cannabis has been legalized in several states in the U.S. However, cannabis businesses are having hard times securing simple financial services from banks, the vast majority of which are secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and are thus prohibited from servicing an industry that is still deemed illegal under federal law.