Bitcoin Nears Final Step Towards Full-Fledged Business Platform with Real-Time Sales Tax Engine From Avalara

The ability to process sales tax for Bitcoin transactions is one of the final, necessary steps to support bitcoin-driven business models – and the latest example of our forward-thinking approach.

Avalara, Inc., (http://www.Avalara.com), a leading provider of cloud-based software that delivers a broad array of compliance solutions related to sales tax and other transactional taxes, announced today it has enabled the bitcoin module for its AvaTax™ compliance engine. Avalara is believed to be the first and only service provider to support the calculation and accounting of sales tax for bitcoin transactions, allowing retailers, digital wallets, and other digital currency processors to calculate sales tax and VAT tax for bitcoin transactions in real-time.

“Avalara has a history of researching and addressing sticky compliance issues right from the get-go,” said Webb Stevens, Avalara’s Head of Product.

“Whether it’s preparing merchants to quickly address the litany of sales tax holidays or helping businesses run entirely on bitcoin, Avalara works hard to ensure customers have real solutions, real fast. The ability to process sales tax for Bitcoin transactions is one of the final, necessary steps to support bitcoin-driven business models – and the latest example of our forward-thinking approach.”

Bitcoin has been growing in popularity over the past few months, and point of sale applications and other key payment technologies are also evolving to handle bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin has generated growing interest among online businesses in part because of its potential to enable frictionless transactions with customers anywhere in the world. Moreover, merchants are attracted to the promise to reduce or eliminate currency conversion fees, credit card transaction fees and outright fraud.

That said, if a merchant conducts business using bitcoin in the United States or Europe they must calculate, collect and file sales tax of some sort.

“With many online business processing millions of transactions per day, it’s critical that they get accurate and compliant sales tax rates for every transaction,” said Stevens.

“Avalara intends to innovate in the handling of cryptocurrencies, just as have in handling tax and compliance issues for virtual goods, digital services and highly mobile location-based transactions.”

About Avalara – Making Sales Tax Less Taxing

Avalara helps businesses of all sizes achieve compliance with sales tax and other transactional tax requirements by delivering comprehensive, automated, cloud-based solutions that are fast, accurate, and easy to use. Avalara’s end-to-end suite of solutions are designed to effectively manage the complicated and burdensome tax compliance obligations imposed by state, local, and other taxing authorities in the United States and internationally.

Avalara is integrated with leading accounting, ERP, ecommerce and other business applications. Founded in 2004 and privately-held, Avalara’s venture capital investors include Battery Ventures, Sageview Capital, Arthur Ventures, and other institutional and individual investors. Avalara employs more than 500 people at its headquarters on Bainbridge Island, WA and in offices across the U.S. and in London, England and Pune, India.

More information about Avalara at: http://www.avalara.com/