Georgia lawmakers consider giving crypto miners tax exemptions in new bill

Five members of the Georgia House of Representatives person introduced a measure that would exempt section crypto miners from paying income and usage tax.

On Monday, Georgia Representatives Don Parsons, Todd Jones, Katie Dempsey, Heath Clark, and Kasey Carpenter introduced HB 1342, a measure which has yet to beryllium titled. The authorities proposes to amend the authorities taxation codification “to exempt the merchantability oregon usage of energy utilized successful the commercialized mining of integer assets” and would apt lone use to commercialized miners operating successful a installation of astatine slightest 75,000 quadrate feet — astir 6,968 quadrate meters.

The projected measure is the latest successful the bid of state-level measures aiming to promote crypto miners to acceptable up shop. In January, Illinois lawmakers introduced a measure which would widen taxation incentives for information centers engaged successful crypto mining. Kentucky proposed akin legislation successful March 2021.

Crypto miners. Source: WikiCommons 

Electricity costs stay a large origin for crypto firms looking to grow their operations successful the United States and beyond. Canadian Bitcoin (BTC) mining institution Bitfarms announced successful November it was planning to physique its archetypal information center successful Washington State, citing its “cost-effective electricity” and accumulation rates. Texas has besides received a fig of firms pursuing the crackdown of mining successful China, perchance owed to the state’s deregulated powerfulness grid and renewable vigor sources.

Related: Crypto miners exempt from IRS reporting rules, US Treasury affirms

Georgia is expected to person 56,000 Bitmain miners operating successful the state by October arsenic portion of an statement with the mining firm, ISW Holdings, and Bit5iv. In addition, the state’s legislature passed a measure successful March 2021 calling for acquisition officials to implement a precocious schoolhouse survey program based astir fiscal literacy which includes cryptocurrency.