Swiss city of Lugano to pay taxes in cryptocurrencies
The Swiss city of Lugano will pay taxes in cryptocurrencies through a partnership with Tether
The ultimate goal is to accept cryptocurrencies for payment of all goods and services in the city of Lugano, the city administration said.
The city of Lugano, the economic capital of southern Italian-speaking Switzerland, is adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments as part of a new collaboration with stablecoin provider Tether (USDT).
Tether Operations Limited, the blockchain-based platform that powers USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has signed a partnership with the Lugano administration.
Tether and the city administration have established a Blockchain Adoption Center of Excellence with the goal of becoming a major European blockchain hub.
The collaboration aims to demonstrate real-world use cases of blockchain by applying it practically in the local community, including adoption of cryptocurrency payments and experimentation with blockchain solutions on an urban scale. Tether and the city specifically plan to implement the Lightning Network, a second layer added to the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, to overcome scalability hurdles for their cryptocity infrastructure.
Lugano plans to scale its efforts to allow citizens and businesses to pay their taxes in cryptocurrencies in the near future, pending various formal approvals and infrastructure projects. The ultimate goal is to accept cryptocurrency for payment for all goods and services, equating it to fiat currency.
As part of the partnership, Tether will also create a multi-million dollar fund to help finance blockchain-based startups and blockchain services in the region. In addition, Tether will contribute its expertise and support to the city of Lugano to provide industrial education through collaborations with local universities and research institutions.
According to the mayor of Lugano, Michele Foletti, the latest partnership with Tether will help the city further expand its fintech efforts and development. He mentioned that the city of Lugano has been actively involved in crypto and blockchain technology in recent years, including its work on LVGA Points citizen payment tokens, non-fungible tokens and other blockchain developments, stating:
“Lugano is investing in its future. In recent years, we have already implemented blockchain-based solutions, including the MyLugano app and its LVGA Points payment token, the Lugano digital franc and the 3Achain blockchain infrastructure.”
The news comes amid Lugano City and Tether hosting a live event on cryptocurrency adoption in the city on Thursday, as announced last week.
Bitcoin and stablecoins are revolutionizing the financial sector. Tether and the city of Lugano @luganomycity are teaming up to turn Lugano into the #bitcoin capital of Europe.
Every city needs a plan. Join the Lugano Plan ₿
As previously reported, there are several cities and cantons in Switzerland that allow their residents to pay taxes on cryptocurrencies, including the Swiss canton of Zug and the municipality of Zermatt.
