AL House Committee Moves Crypto-Friendly Bill Foward
Companion bill to SB282 exempts cryptocurrency from ad valorem taxes
The Alabama House Ways and Means General Fund Committee gave a favorable report to HB483 Wednesday afternoon, sending the bill to the floor of the House. Two related bills, HB482 and HB484 were carried over to the next meeting.
HB483 is sponsored by State Representative Mike Shaw (R-Vestavia Hills), and is the companion bill to SB282. As previously reported, SB282 received a favorable report Wednesday morning from the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee.
Rep. Shaw spoke with ALPolitics.com about the Committee’s actions Wednesday.
"I am really happy that both the Senate and House committees passed HB483 and the companion bill SB282 regarding taxes on digital assets,“ Shaw said. “There were great questions and discussion and you can tell Legislators in both chambers have an open mind on the blockchain topics. It's just still really new tech and it will take some time to work through it.”
“18% of the citizens of Alabama own digital assets, and that number climbs to 34% of citizens under 35--a full third of our younger voters. We all want to represent our people well, and I really think Alabama will ultimately be one of the most blockchain and crypto-friendly states,” Shaw said.
Wyoming is the only State ALPolitics.com has found that exempts cryptocurrencies from ad valorem or other property taxes. Arizona is also considering legislation similar to Alabama’s. The passage of these bills would place Alabama at the forefront of this critically important financial field.
The bills which were carried over, HB482 and HB484, both introduced by Rep. Shaw, would allow the State to leverage the power of blockchain technology in investing and financial reporting.
HB482 would authorize the State Treasurer to invest in certain digital assets like cryptocurrencies. HB382 would allow Alabama to engage in the same type of investment strategy as President Trump has promoted with his Executive Order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile.
HB484 would require the publication of certain State expenditures to a public blockchain and would provide for the creation of a strategic plan to accomplish that goal. Under HB484, any public expenditure of more than $1000 would be published to a public blockchain, greatly enhancing the transparency of State spending.
Blockchain technology is based on a secure, encrypted database of information shared across a network. It is the basis for secure, verifiable cryptocurrency transfer and storage as well as types of information distribution.
