Alabama Moves One Step Closer To Being A Crypto-Friendly State
SB282 receives favorable report from AL Senate Finance and Taxation Committee.
Alabama has moved one step closer to formally exempting cryptocurrencies from ad valorem taxes. SB282, which codifies what is now general practice, received a favorable report from the Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee on Wednesday.
Alabama State Representative Mike Shaw (R-Vestavia Hills) spoke in favor of SB282 before the Committee, saying that the bill “is a short addition to the list of exemptions for ad valorem. It really codifies exemptions and existing interpretations of the rule that digital assets are not taxable property. We want to put it into the law to codify that to give people regulatory confidence and get people outside of our state interested in seeing Alabama as a crypto-friendly state.”
“Depending on your district, anywhere between 15% and 30% of the people own digital assets. This is a way to represent the people we represent, and give them some regulatory certainty in ad valorem taxes on digital assets,” Shaw concluded.
Committee Chairman Greg Albritton (R-22) asked Rep. Shaw to clarify that the bill provides a tax exemption on this “entity,” to which Rep. Shaw responded “correct.” Chairman Albritton asked for further clarification that ad valorem taxes were not currently being collected on cryptocurrencies. Rep. Shaw answered, “that’s not currently happening but that’s a rule, it’s not the law. This bill would make it the law.”
The bill was given a favorable report by the Committee, and will now go to the full Senate.
Cryptocurrency bills are nothing new to the Alabama Legislature. A 2021 bill brought by then-State Rep. Andrew Sorrell to accept cryptocurrencies from ad valorem taxes stalled at the house. A reintroduction of this bill in 2022 likewise failed to reach the Governor’s desk.
SB282 would place Alabama at the forefront of the national cryptocurrency debate. As far as ALPolitics.com has been able to determine, only Wyoming has specifically exempted cryptocurrencies from ad valorem taxes. Arizona has also introduced legislation similar to SB282, which is currently pending in the Arizona legislature.
If SB282 passes and is signed by Governor Ivey, it will send a strong signal to the remainder of the country that Alabama is indeed a crypto-friendly state.
Rep. Shaw is the sponsor of HB483, the companion bill to SB282.
