Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger similarly said in a statement that Illinois would not be able to use any of the funds it is projected to raise during the litigation, so “the State loses very little by waiting. Everyone else loses a great deal by forging ahead.”
Much of Wednesday’s filing reiterates arguments that the crypto industry has already brought: That the Internet Tax Freedom Act and the U.S. Constitution both preempt Illinois’ state tax on digital asset transactions. It also argued that the state would be treating digital assets differently from other financial services.
“Illinois generally does not tax transactions or services involving financial assets, beyond taxing income and capital gains associated with those transactions or services, and sales in which financial assets (such as money) are used as a method of payment,” the filing said. “The State’s sales and use taxes do not otherwise reach activities involving intangible personal property, including most financial assets, and those laws expressly exempt money and precious metals.”
Mersinger also hinted that other states might try to copy Illinois if the state wins its case: “If this Act stands, Illinois will not be the last state to try it.”
