Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Eddie Hughes, has asked the local authorities to take the initiative and accept Bitcoin payments. The conservative politician also believes that the lack of reliable information is delaying wider adoption.
The United Kingdom should take the initiative
The comments of MP Hughes, reported in the Squeeze newspaper, follow the recent announcement that Ohio now allows local businesses to pay taxes in Bitcoin. He said a local authority should also “plant a flag” and show that a similar scheme could work in the United Kingdom.
Hughes won his seat in Walsall North of the 38-year-old Labor Party’s general election leader in 2017. He describes himself as an “enthusiastic amateur cryptography enthusiast” and is willing to spread wider acceptance.
“I would love it, and we would love for us to take the initiative in Walsall”, he said.
Knowledge is power
After talking to a charity that accepted donations in bitcoin, Hughes asked: “… what prevents us from paying municipal taxes and other bills with bitcoin?”, Adds:
You are ahead of the curve or behind the curve, and our country is in an interesting position at this time. We must be seen as a progressive country … Taking the initiative in this field could be very beneficial.
Hughes feels that there is a lot of talk about technology and that parliamentarians have a duty to understand it. He suggested that there is a need for a simple mechanism for politicians (and the public in general) “to become familiar with it in a safe manner”.
Freedom of expression
This is not the first time that Hughes supports cryptocurrencies and distributed accounting technologies. In July, he wrote a report asking the United Kingdom to appoint a “Block Chain Chief”.
The group of conservative experts, Freer, published the report, which also detailed £ 8 billion of savings that technology could bring.
“The state should focus its attention on the use of blockchain to allow social freedom, increase efficiency and rebuild the trust of society,” Hughes concluded.
Accepting the Council’s tax payments in bitcoin seems to be a good start.
Will the United Kingdom eventually start accepting bitcoins for the payment of taxes and invoices?