[Ipg-smz] Ohio accepts bitcoin to pay taxes (Techcrunch)

[Tom Geller]

This strikes me as strange because of something taught to me in an economics class 15 years ago: Taxes are one of the only pinchpoints where government can insist on payment in dollars. 

Even if the rest of society starts trading in chicken feet, by insisting on dollars the government ensures that they continue to have value. (No dollars? We're putting you in jail.) When the Hungarian pengő bills became near-worthless in 1945, what replaced them? Tax certificates ("adópengő").

Perhaps I was mistaught, or that economic model is no longer valid. Or perhaps the state is sticking it to the federal government. (In the latter case, I'd expect some lawsuits and public statements.) In either case, I don't get it.

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Tom Geller  *  Writer & Video/journalist  *  http://tomgeller.com
       Rotterdam, The Netherlands, +31 (0)6 87071468
            Oberlin, Ohio  *  +1-415-317-1805



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