Washington Bill Would Eliminate all State Taxes on Gold and Silver Bullion

OLYMPIA, Wash. (Feb. 8, 2022) – A bill introduced in the Washington state House would eliminate all state taxes on gold and silver bullion. Passage into law would relieve another tax burden on investors, and would also eliminate a barrier to using gold and silver in everyday transactions, a foundational step for people to undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.

Rep. Rob Chase (R) introduced House Bill 1417 (HB1417) on Jan. 10. Under the proposed law, “the exchange of one type or form of precious metal bullion made of gold or silver, or monetized bullion, for a type or form of legal tender may not give rise to any tax liability.”

Washington does not levy sales tax on gold and silver bullion, but it does use federal adjusted gross income as a starting point for state tax calculations. Since the federal government levies capital gains tax on the sale of gold and silver, this gets carried over into Washington state’s tax calculation.

HB1417 would also require “specific performance contract provisions that specifically call for payment in type or form of precious metal bullion made of gold or silver, or monetized bullion.” In effect, this gold and silver clause in contracts would prohibit payment in dollars if the contract calls for payment in gold and silver. Legally enforcing these contracts through state law would serve to encourage their use.

Passage of HB1417 would take another step supporting sound money by effectively repealing all taxes on the exchange of gold and silver. In other words, individuals selling gold or silver bullion, or utilizing gold and silver in a transaction, would no longer be subject to state taxation on the exchange.

Sound Money Defense League Policy Director Jp Cortez testified during a committee hearing for a similar bill that passed in Wyoming last year, saying that charging taxes on money itself is beyond the pale.

“In effect, states that collect taxes on the sale of precious metals are inherently saying gold and silver are not money at all.”

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 that’s essentially what taxes on gold and silver bullion do. By removing the taxes on the exchange of gold and silver, Washington state would treat specie as money instead of a commodity. This represents a step toward reestablishing gold and silver as legal tender and breaking down the Fed’s monopoly on money.

“We ought not to tax money – and that’s a good idea. It makes no sense to tax money,” former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said during testimony in support of an Arizona bill that repealed capital gains taxes on gold and silver in that state. “Paper is not money, it’s fraud,” he continued.

The impact of enacting this legislation will go beyond mere tax policy. During an event after his Senate committee testimony, Paul pointed out that it’s really about the size and scope of government.

“If you’re for less government, you want sound money. The people who want big government, they don’t 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 don’t matter.”

Practically speaking, eliminating taxes on the sale of gold and silver cracks open the door for people to begin using specie in regular business transactions. This marks an important small step toward currency competition.

The effect has been most dramatic in Utah where United Precious Metals Association (UMPA) was established after the passage of the Utah Specie Legal Tender Act and the elimination of all taxes on gold and silver. UPMA offers accounts denominated in U.S.-minted gold and silver dollars. The company also recently released the “Utah Goldback.” UPMA describes it as “the first local, voluntary currency to be made of a spendable, beautiful, physical gold.”

BACKGROUND

The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Currently, all debts and taxes in South Carolina are either paid with Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) which were authorized as legal tender by Congress or with coins issued by the U.S. Treasury — very few of which have gold or silver in them.

The Federal Reserve destroys this constitutional monetary system by creating a monopoly based on its fiat currency. Without the backing of gold or silver, the central bank can easily create money out of thin air. This not only devalues your purchasing power over time; it also allows the federal government to borrow and spend far beyond what would be possible in a sound money system. Without the Fed, the U.S. government wouldn’t be able to maintain all of its unconstitutional wars and programs. The Federal Reserve is the engine that drives the most powerful government in the history of the world.

The passage of HB1417 would remove another tax barrier that hinder the use of gold and silver as money in Washington state.

Repealing taxes on gold and silver also takes the first step in the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.

In a paper presented at the Mises Institute, 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 government’s monopoly on money.

“Over 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 “reverse Gresham’s Law” 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 state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.”

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.

WHAT’S NEXT

HB1417 was referred to the House Finance Committee where it must receive a hearing and pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.

Tags: Constitutional Tender, Federal Reserve, Gold, HB1417, Silver, Sound Money, Washington