Lugano Embraces Bitcoin and Tether for Tax Payments and Municipal Services

The city of Lugano in Switzerland has made a significant move towards embracing digital currencies, allowing its citizens and businesses to use Bitcoin and Tether for tax payments and municipal services. This initiative is part of Lugano's broader Plan B, a collaboration with Tether aimed at leveraging Bitcoin technology to revolutionize the city's financial system.

According to an official announcement on December 5, Lugano has partnered with Bitcoin Suisse, a Swiss cryptocurrency platform, to enable the use of Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) for invoices issued by the city. Residents can settle their taxes and various services by scanning the Swiss QR-bill code on their invoices and executing the transaction using their preferred mobile wallet and the chosen cryptocurrency.

Chief Product Officer at Bitcoin Suisse, Armin Schmid, commented on the development, saying: 'It is great to see that more and more Swiss municipalities are offering payments in cryptocurrencies as an option available to both citizens and companies, complementing traditional payment methods such as post-office counters and e-banking platforms.'

This move follows the footsteps of other Swiss municipalities, such as Zug, which started accepting Bitcoin and Ether for tax payments from local individuals and companies in 2021, and Zermatt, which introduced the option to pay taxes with Bitcoin in partnership with Bitcoin Suisse in January 2020.