Mendoza tax administration starts taking crypto payments for taxes and fees

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Argentina has been pushing towards crypto adoption as a step towards the strategic objective of modernisation and innovation. In the latest step towards digital development, the Argentinean administration has started accepting crypto payments in Mendoza province. In the initial stages, the administration started accepting payments in stablecoin, which an unknown service provider converted to pesos while transferring payments to the government account. The crypto payments service officially started on August 24 and has accounted for payment freedom to the citizens. The government has opted for crypto payments acceptance to provide different means to the taxpayers to comply with their tax obligations. Mendoza Tax Administration (ATM) has started a crypto payments portal on their website to make payments.

Users can pay taxes and fees through crypto wallets like Binance, Bybit, etc. When the payment is initiated, an automated system generates a QR code that users must scan and transfer to a stablecoin like Tether for payment. The service provider converts the crypto asset to equivalent pesos and transfers it to the govt account.

Crypto adoption is currently at its maximum in Argentina, as payment acceptance is just one of the many steps for digital innovation. Mastercard had also announced a specific card for the Argentinean people that would support 14 currencies like USDT across 90 million offline and online stores. Buenos Aires joined the crypto adoption program in April this year as it announced its plans to start accepting crypto payments for public finance transactions. One statement from Tether reads, “Tether has provided a real tool for users facing economic crises in Argentina.” The statement was attributed to the Argentine pesos' high inflation and economic instability over the years.

Crypto assets are seen as inflation hedges by the authorities and citizens of Argentina. Using stablecoin like Tether allows the citizens of Argentina to access the global market directly instead of succumbing to the local black markets. Citizens have welcomed the administrative decisions of accepting crypto payments as it also safeguards their funds from getting confiscated by the government. Thus, despite the ban on coin offerings by the central bank and a bear market in the crypto world, Argentinian citizens prefer to store their savings in stablecoin.

The current steps from Argentine authorities are attributed in both good and bad ways by governments and experts worldwide. As per them, it is a step to move into the future and protect their economy against inflation and crises.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash