US-based retailer Overstock.com on January 3 revealed its plans to use Bitcoin to pay part of its business taxes in the state of Ohio. According to the plans published on the company’s website, Overstock will pay off commercial activity taxes (CAT) with Bitcoin starting February 2019. The company will pay off the taxes by using the latest cryptocurrency taxpayer platform naming OhioCrypto.com.
Patrick Byrne, founder, and CEO of Overstock.com said that the adoption of cryptocurrencies by the government and other emerging technologies with friendly legislation is one of the most suitable ways to stay in the US market as well as the ever-growing global economy.
Ohio became the first US state to have adopted Bitcoin as a payment method for taxes in November 2018. The taxes thus paid via Bitcoin would be converted into US dollar equivalent by Bitcoin processor BitPay. The Bitcoin thus converted into US dollar equivalent would be transferred to the Office of the Ohio Treasurer. However, the services for tax payment are available to certain businesses as of now. But there are plans are in place to extend the availability of the option to individual filers in the near future.
Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel praised Overstock move and said that the company has embraced the blockchain technology ahead of its time. Mandel in an interview with Cointelegraph said that the state is mulling to consider going beyond Bitcoin and starting accepting other cryptocurrencies in the future. In a separate interview Fortune, a business magazine, Mandel reconfirmed the state’s plans further explaining the plans saying that the state would introduce crypto payments for all taxpayers by 2020.
In 2014, Overstock was reported to be the first major firm to accept Bitcoin. The news followed signing off an agreement between Overstock and Coinbase crypto exchange.
According to a recent report, Byrne has revealed its plans to sell off the retail arm of Overstock as it focused on the blockchain. The transaction is expected to be completed by February 2019. Byrne has already sold nearly 10% of his shares worth more than $20 million as he aims to invest the money in Medici Ventures an Overstock’s blockchain-focused subsidiary.
Overstock started accepting Bitcoin payments back in 2014. Since then its subsidiary Medici Ventures has been acting as an investment wing in blockchain startups. The firm is also in news for developing a security token trading platform dubbed tZERO.
Overstock is operational since 1997. The company began to sell exclusively surplus and returned products through an online platform. The company has reportedly sold good of nearly 18 failed dot-com companies at a rate below than the wholesale prices. The company, as of now, deals in closeout merchandise and new merchandise.
