TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 30, 2025) – The Florida Legislature has passed a bill that would officially recognize gold and silver as legal tender and repeal state taxes on their exchange. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk for his consideration.
Under House Bill 999 (H999), sponsored by Rep. Doug Bankson and Rep. Monique Miller, “gold coin and silver coin” would be recognized as legal tender in the state for the “payment of a debt.” The bill includes an expansive definition of “coin” to include a “round, bar, ingot, or bullion coin, which is valued for its metal content and is stamped or imprinted with its weight and which consists of at least 99.5 percent purity.”
State agencies and political subdivisions would be authorized to accept gold or silver for the payment of taxes and fees by electronic transfer. The bill includes provisions to facilitate this process, along with regulations to support the use of gold and silver in transactions in the state.
On April 29, the Senate unanimously passed the bill by a 38-0 vote.. On April 30, the House concurred with the Senate amended version in a unanimous 113-0 vote, completing the legislative process and sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis for consideration.
The enactment of H999 would make Florida the eighth state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender, as they always should have been doing. Utah led the way, reestablishing constitutional money in 2011. Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Idaho, and Alabama have since joined.
IN PRACTICE
Practically speaking, this would allow Florida residents to use gold or silver as money rather than as mere investment vehicles.
The passage of H999 would represent a big first step against the fiat-based Federal Reserve system by creating a foundation to pull the rug out from under it on the state and local levels. In essence, it would set the stage for the people themselves to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.
The next step would be for people to start taking advantage of the status of gold and silver as money by using both as such instead of Federal Reserve notes.
The effect has been most dramatic in Utah, where the Specie Legal Tender Act opened the door for the development of a robust gold and silver economy in the state. With some legal hurdles cleared away by the state’s legal tender law, the United Precious Metal Association (UPMA), in partnership with Alpine Gold Exchange, set up the state’s first “gold bank.”
The Act has also led to the creation of the Goldback, a local, voluntary medium of exchange. Goldbacks are notes made from fractions of an ounce of physical gold. The company created a process that turns pure gold into a spendable physical form for small transactions.
New Hampshire also boasts a thriving gold and silver economy. While the state does not officially recognize bullion as legal tender, this has not deterred thousands of residents from using it in private transactions. Because there are no state tax barriers on precious metals, a favorable tax climate – combined with a population willing to embrace sound money – has positioned New Hampshire as another model for others to follow.
GOLD CONTRACT CLAUSE
Beyond the provisions to make gold and silver legal tender, H999 includes language recognizing gold or silver contract clauses.
“A person or an entity, including any governmental entity, may not incur any liability for refusing to offer or accept such legal tender, except as specifically provided for by contract.” [Emphasis added]
In practice, including language acknowledging gold contract clauses means if parties voluntarily agree to be paid, or to pay, in gold and silver coin or bullion, Florida courts could not substitute any other thing, e.g. Federal Reserve Notes, as payment.
The principle behind a gold clause contract is simple. It requires that payment be made in a specific amount of gold or its paper equivalent. For example, a mortgage might stipulate that repayment must be in the form of 30 ounces of gold. Gold clauses protect the parties to a contract from currency debasement and incentivize the use of sound money.
REMOVING TAXES
H999 would repeal all sales taxes on “any gold coin or silver coin that is legal tender in this state.” Under the current law, sales tax is not charged on gold and silver transactions above $500. H999 would remove that threshold.
Taxes on precious metal bullion erect barriers to using gold and silver as money by raising transaction costs.
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 a sales tax on gold and silver bullion does. By eliminating this tax on the exchange of gold and silver, states treat gold and silver specie more like money. This supports the use of gold and silver in transactions and breaks 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.
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 most states 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 paper 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.
State bills that facilitate and encourage the use of sound money create a playing field where people can push back against the Fed’s monetary malfeasance. Ultimately, it could create a scenario where people can drive out the “bad” fiat money with “good” sound money.
WHAT’S NEXT
H999 now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will have 7 days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto the bill once it is formally presented to him. If he takes no action within that time, it will become law without his signature. If transmitted to his office after the close of the legislative session, he will have 15 days instead.
