The House passed a controversial bill that banned $10,000 in cash and sentenced people who used cash to exceed the limit to two years in prison. But the bill won’t become law until the Senate investigates the bill. The 2019 Currency (Cash Use Limits) Act was passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The proposed law will force Australians to use electronic transactions or checks instead of cash when paying more than $10,000. If they do not, they will be sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of up to $25,200. The government’s “Black Economy Task Force” first proposed this proposal to prevent criminal gangs from using large amounts of cash to buy cars, houses and jewelry to launder money.
The proposed law will apply to all goods or services paid to companies with a Dutch bank account, which will affect major purchases such as cars, boats, housing and home improvement. The government has stated that the measure does not apply to individual-to-individual transactions, such as the seller’s lack of private sales by ABN Amro or the payment of cash to financial institutions. The proposed law does not currently apply to digital currencies such as Bitcoin.
