Argentina’s wine capital Mendoza accepts crypto for provincial taxes

The government of Mendoza has added crypto to legal tax payment options and provided a step-by-step guide for users.

The Mendoza province, the wine capital of Argentina and one of the world’s leading destinations for oenophiles, now accepts cryptocurrency for tax obligations and other government fees.

This is after the Mendoza Tax Administration (ATM), the province’s tax agency, announced it had added the new payment method to facilitate payment of taxes online.

Pay tax online with crypto

According to a press release the government published on Friday, taxpayers can go to the tax administration’s ‘pay online’ section and follow a step-by-step guide on how to pay their taxes with crypto.

“This new service is part of the strategic objective of modernization and innovation carried out by the Mendoza Tax Administration so that taxpayers have different means to comply with their tax obligations,” read part of the press release.

The crypto payment option will support all types of crypto wallets and taxpayers will have to scan a QR Code to complete the transaction, the agency advises in the guide.

But while the payments will be made in crypto, ATM has partnered with a crypto payments provider to convert cryptocurrencies into the local currency pesos. This will help the tax watchdog to offer proof of payment as well as remit these to the government in pesos, according to the announcement.

The government of Mendoza’s move to accept crypto for tax obligation payments comes as more people turn to cryptocurrencies as Argentina’s inflation skyrockets. Annual inflation hit a 20-year high of 71% in figures reported earlier this month, with the central bank hiking interest rates by 950 bps to 69.5%.

Economists recently projected the country’s inflation rate will hit 90% by the end of the year.