- Lugano residents and businesses can now pay their taxes with Bitcoin
- The city also accepts payments with USDT, including for community expenses
- Lugano and Tether partnered in 2022 to boost crypto adoption in that town
Residents of this city in Switzerland can now pay their municipal taxes with cryptocurrencies.
The city of Lugano, in southeastern Switzerland, has expanded its tax and community fee payment options to include the digital currencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT), pegged to the US dollar.
In a statement on December 5, the town announced that from now on, companies and residents of Lugano will be able to use either of the two cryptocurrencies as a means of payment to meet their tax obligations.
In particular, they will be able to pay with Bitcoin or the aforementioned stablecoin tax invoices, regardless of the nature of the service or the amount invoiced, as well as all other community expenses through a simple and fully automated process, using the Swiss cryptocurrency platform, Bitcoin Switzerland
The City of Lugano now accepts the payment of taxes and other municipal services in #Bitcoin (#BTC) and #Tether (#USDT).
— Bitcoin Suisse (@BitcoinSuisseAG) December 5, 2023
👉 Starting today, #Lugano will accept Bitcoin and Tether as a means of payment through a simple and fully automated process, utilizing Bitcoin Suisse.
Read… pic.twitter.com/hBo1Q3F7zX
The measure is part of Lugano’s “Plan B”, an initiative born from a collaboration with stablecoin broadcaster Tether to transform the city’s financial infrastructure using Bitcoin technology.
In early 2022, the company behind USDT formed a partnership with the city to establish Bitcoin, USDT, and Lugano’s own LVGA Points token as legal tender in that town. The initiative included other projects, such as promoting spaces for innovation and the adoption of cryptocurrencies by local companies.
Bitcoin Suisse supports Lugano in its “ Plan B ” by acting as a technical partner in the integrated payment solution, providing an option to accept payments with digital currencies for the collection of taxes and other invoices for municipal services.
Leveraging Swiss QR-Bill technology, the system allows Lugano residents to simply scan a code on their bill and pay the desired amount from their cryptocurrency mobile wallet of choice.
The news comes a few days after an integration of the MyLugano payment app, which allows residents of that city to pay taxes, parking fines and utilities using cryptocurrency, with Polygon PoS, was announced.
Lugano is not the only city in Switzerland that has actively adopted Bitcoin for payments and experimented with Blockchain technology. Other towns in the European country have been accepting cryptocurrencies for the payment of taxes, as is the case, for example, of Zug, a city that has become famous among the crypto community for its adoption of digital currencies.
“It is fantastic to see that more and more Swiss municipalities are offering cryptocurrency payments as an option available to both citizens and businesses, complementing traditional payment methods such as post office counters and electronic banking platforms,” commented Armin Schmid, Director of Bitcoin Suisse products, within the framework of the measure in Lugano.
