(Montpelier, Vermont) – On the heels of overwhelming votes to remove all taxes from purchases of precious metals in Mississippi, legislators in Vermont have introduced a measure to curtail the controversial tax in their own state.
Introduced yesterday by Rep.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA (February 2nd, 2023) – The Wyoming State Senate today voted 16-15, on a bipartisan basis, to pass a bill prompting the Wyoming state treasurer to hold gold and silver “specie” to protect the state – as well as establish a process to receive certain tax payments in specie.

(Jefferson City, Missouri, USA — December 14, 2022) – A state senator from St. Charles County has introduced a bill in Missouri to eliminate income taxes on sales of gold and silver, invest state funds in gold and silver, and establish the Missouri Bullion Depository.

Money is one of the most misunderstood topics of our time, and we’re seeing the implications of this play out every day. To understand money, one first must first understand that human beings have always been incentivized to participate in exchange. If humans could not, or did not, trade, most people would die young from starvation, disease, or exposure to the elements.

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — January 20, 2022) – An Oklahoma state representative introduced legislation today that would enable the State Treasurer to protect Sooner State funds from inflation and financial risk by holding physical gold and silver.

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA – January 20, 2022) – Oklahoma ended sales taxes on purchases of precious metals long ago, but now a representative from Broken Arrow wants to eliminate yet another tax on on gold and silver transactions.
Introduced by Sen. Nathan Dahm, Senate Bill 1480 would end capital gain transactions on the exchange of gold and silver.

Last year was a good year for state-level sound money legislation across the United States. 2022 could be even better. Building on the success enjoyed by sound money advocates in Arkansas and Ohio last year, more than a half dozen states are now considering legislation that rolls back discriminatory taxes and regulations on the sale, use, and purchase of gold and silver.

(Birmingham, AL, USA – January 10, 2022) – Alabama currently exempts precious metals from state sales tax, however this exemption is set to expire in 2022. A senator in the Yellowhammer State hopes to extend this popular exemption.

The Ohio House of Representatives just approved a bill which helps Buckeye State citizens protect themselves from the loss of monetary purchasing power caused by federal money printing. Introduced by Representative Oeslager, House Bill 110 includes a provision to eliminate the sales and use tax on purchases of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion in Ohio. 

Representative Sorrell has introduced House Bill 122, a tax-neutral measure to exclude from gross income any net capital gain and any net capital loss derived from the exchange of precious metals bullion. Policies that penalize savers in precious metals reduce the likelihood that Alabama citizens will take prudent steps to insulate themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil caused by the Federal Reserve.

Introduced by Representative Okimoto (R-36), House Bill 1830 removes sales and use tax against gold and silver bullion and currency in Hawaii. Under current law, Hawaii citizens are discouraged from insuring their savings against the devaluation of the dollar because they are penalized with taxation for doing so. Passage of this measure would remove disincentives to holding gold and silver for this purpose.

Eagle, ID (November 6, 2019) – Seven outstanding students beat out over 100 of their high-school and college peers in making the best case for sound money through an international, gold-backed scholarship competition……and the winners walked away with almost $10,000 in scholarship awards for their exceptional, thought-provoking essays.

Policies relating to sound money have been the subject of substantial debate at the state level this year, with bills, hearings, and/or votes taking place in nearly a dozen legislatures. As most state legislatures have now wrapped up their work for the year, let’s review the victories (both offensive and defensive)—and lone defeat—for sound money during the 2019 session.

Well, here’s some encouraging news… Efforts in Washington State to impose sales taxes on gold and silver were SHUT DOWN today thanks to intense efforts by the Sound Money Defense League, a group of in-state coin dealers led by Dan Duncan, the Association of Washington Businesses, and a large number of vocal grassroots supporters.

Before the ink could even dry on West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s signature on a repeal of sales taxation on gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion and coins, legislators in Wisconsin and Maine introduced similar measures in their own states.

The battle to end taxation of constitutional money has reached the federal level as U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) today re-introduced sound money legislation to remove all federal income taxation from gold and silver coins and bullion. The Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act (H.R. 1089) backed by the Sound Money Defense League and free-market activists – would clarify that the sale or exchange of precious metals bullion and coins are not to be included in capital gains, losses, or any other type of federal income calculation.

Washington, DC (February 5, 2018) – A member of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee today pressed the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on its conspicuous failure to uncover the very silver market manipulation now being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Several bills introduced in the Tennessee legislature would eliminate sales and use tax against  gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Introduced by Representative Ron Gant (R-Rossville), House Bill 212 removes sales and use tax against platinum, gold and silver bullion, some numismatic coins, and numismatic coins sold at trade show.

Boise, Idaho (February 12, 2018) – The Idaho State House today overwhelmingly approved a bill which helps restore constitutional, sound money in the Gem State. State representatives voted 60-9 to pass House Bill 449 sending the measure introduced by House Majority Leader Mike Moyle and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Steve Vick to the Senate for a hearing in the Local Government and Taxation Committee.

December 13, 2017 (Eagle, Idaho) — A national precious metals dealer has selected four outstanding students to receive tuition assistance from America’s first gold-backed scholarship fund. Beginning last year, Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer recently ranked “Best in the USA,” teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League and well known members of academia and freedom-minded non-profits to offer the first gold-backed scholarship of the modern era.

In a newsletter published in 1970, economist Murray Rothbard wrote, “It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”

Financially prudent individuals set aside surplus funds to protect against unforeseen expenditures. This way, when faced with loss of income, house repairs, car trouble, or anything else, they will have a buffer against unanticipated downturns. In the same vein, almost every state in the United States has established a “savings account” for government operations.

In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat published an essay that is misunderstood, or more often, unread, titled, “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.” Bastiat brilliantly introduced the idea of opportunity cost and, through the parable of the broken window, illustrated the destructive effects of unintended consequences.

Imagine if you asked a grocery clerk to break a $20 bill, and he charged you $1.40 in tax. Silly, right? After all, you were only exchanging one form of money for another. But try walking to a local precious metals dealer in more than 25 states and exchanging a $20 bill for an ounce of silver.

Tens of millions of Americans and their employers pour money into pension plans each month, counting on those funds to grow and to be there when needed at retirement. But a time bomb awaits. The bulk of U.S. pension funds are dangerously underfunded, and the assets are often invested in securities that have bleak prospects for providing income that keeps up with a general decline in purchasing power.

I grew up a block away from the 7-train, where I’d take a short ride from the 90th Street station to the Willets Point–Shea Stadium station to watch my favorite team, the New York Mets. Sitting in the stands as a young child, I learned quickly that there were a number of ways to obtain and interpret information. I could watch the umpire and immediately have known whether Al Leiter threw a strike or a ball. Another option was to watch the scoreboard and, with some delay, have known whether Derek Bell safely stole second base.

Control the money, and you control the people. Over the last hundred years, the federal government and the Federal Reserve, a privately owned bank cartel conceived of in secret, have waged a war on sound money in America. They’ve ended the free circulation of gold (and, for a time, criminalized its ownership), while imposing taxes on those who trade with it.