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IPFS News Link • Business/ Commerce

Forget Taxes: What if Estonia Made More Money Selling Services?

• http://www.thedailybell.com

$60 Billion plus is the U.S. dollar equivalent to how much Bitcoin is currently in circulation. That amount of money would keep the Estonian government running at current expenditures for almost 60 years.

$60 billion is more than double Estonia's Gross Domestic Product.

So what if Estonia released a cryptocurrency that was that successful? It's not a stretch to think the first government-sponsored crypocurrency would do as well or better than Bitcoin. It would still have to be structured properly on the blockchain with secure technology. But the legitimacy an actual country and government could give to a digital cryptocurrency is immense.

Just from the money Estonia made off a Bitcoin level token offering, they wouldn't have to charge taxes anymore. The country could become a bastion of unprecedented wealth, as every investor and business in the world would want to move to a zero tax rate jurisdiction.

The idea has been floated to start a digital currency based on the Estonia e-residency program.

But the idea is still in the infant stages, not an official government proposal as some rumors indicated. The confusion came from the fact that the Managing Director of Estonia's e-residency program Kaspar Korjus posted an article discussing the possibility of a government-backed cryptocurrency.

This would enable Estonia to invest in new technologies and innovations for the public sector, from smart contracts to Artificial Intelligence, as well as make it technically scalable to benefit more people around the world. Estonia would then serve a model for how societies of the future can be served in the digital era…

As with e-Residency however, the longer term opportunities could be far greater and possibly beyond anything we can currently comprehend.

In time, estcoins could also be accepted as payment for both public and private services and eventually function as a viable currency used globally.

I would call their current online services a "beta program." They are still figuring out exactly who wants their services and why.

E-residency currently costs $50. It allows e-residents from Estonia and abroad to open an e-business all online. It is basically a package of online tools for people who want to do international business more easily. It is still somewhat limited, but their list of products is growing. You can sign documents online with a special ID card, and open bank accounts. You are being sold a legitimate online identification.

Clearly excited about the possibilities, Kaspar Korjus wants to see the program expanded. There are countless services governments could offer to set a precedent for the digital era. Could one of the precedents be raising revenue through selling services instead of coercive taxation?

The precedent has been set.

The Estonian government is offering products to their citizens and foreigners which are not mandatory to buy. If they release a successful digital currency the wealth of the tiny nation, with only 1.3 million residents, could skyrocket.

Imagine if they started selling actual citizenship, with your very own passport, and access to a bank account outside your home country's jurisdiction. There would be a tremendous worldwide market for such a product from a real legitimate government.

Currently, their e-residents are not truly Estonian residents. But that could change. If you could slash your taxes to zero, why wouldn't you become an Estonian resident? They could even charge a pretty high one-time price for that product. It could save people enormous amounts of money in taxes.


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