ST PAUL, Minn. (March 20, 2019) – A bill introduced in the Minnesota House would expand the sales tax exemption on gold and silver to include bullion coins. Passage of the billย would encourage their use and take another small step toward breaking the Federal Reserveโs monopoly on money.
Rep. Tama Theis (R) introduced House Bill 1810 (HF1810) on Feb. 28. The proposed law would exempt bullion coin from the state sales tax. A bullion coinย is defined as any coin containing silver, gold, platinum, palladium, or other precious metal. Under current law, precious metal bullion is already exempt from sales tax. Passage of HF1810 would add coins to that exemption.
IN PRACTICE
Imagine if you asked a grocery clerk to break a $5 bill and he charged you a 35 cent tax. Silly, right? After all, you were only exchanging one form of money for another. But thatโs essentially what Minnesota’s sales tax on gold and silver coins does. By removing the sales tax on the exchange of precious metals, Minnesota would treat bullion coins as money instead of a commodity. This represents a small step toward reestablishing gold and silver as legal tender and breaking down the Fedโs monopoly on money.
We ought not to tax money โ and thatโs a good idea. It makes no sense to tax money,โ former U.S.ย Rep. Ron Paul said during testimony in supportย an Arizona billย that repealed capital gains taxes on gold and silver in that state. โPaper is not money, itโs fraud,โ he continued.
The new lawโs impact goes beyond mere tax policy. Duringย an event after his Senate committee testimony, Paul pointed out that itโs really about the size and scope of government.
โIf youโre for less government, you want sound money. The people who want big government, they donโt want sound money. They want to deceive you and commit fraud. They want to print the money. They want a monopoly. They want to get you conditioned, as our schools have conditioned us, to the point where deficits donโt matter.โ
Practically speaking, eliminating taxes on the sale of gold and silver coins would crack open the door for people to begin using specie in regular business transactions. This would mark an important small stepย toward currency competition. If sound money gains a footholdย in the marketplace against Federal Reserve notes, the people would be able to choose the time-tested stability of gold and silver over the central bankโs rapidly-depreciating paper currency.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, โNo State shallโฆmake any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.โ States have simply ignored this constitutional provision for years. Itโs impossible for states to return to a constitutional sound money system when it taxes gold and silver as a commodity.
HF1810 takes a step towards that constitutional requirement, ignored for decades in every state. Such a tactic would set the stage to undermine the monopoly of the Federal Reserve by introducing competition into the monetary system.
Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal governmentโs monopoly on money.
โOver time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a โreverse Greshamโs Lawโ effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the stateโs treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state โ as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money โ and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.โ
Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people. Nullifying the Fed on a state by state level is what will get us there.
WHATโS NEXT
HF1810 was referred to the House Committee on Taxes where it must pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
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