Well, here’s some encouraging news.
Efforts in Washington State to impose sales tax 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, and a large number of vocal grassroots supporters.
Here’s the backstory…
Last month, a few misguided Washington State representatives introduced a measure to ban high capacity firearm magazines and establish a buyback program. These legislators planned to fund their unconstitutional gun policies with a new tax on constitutional money.
Their cynical efforts stalled out after hearing testimony from members of national policy groups, such as the Sound Money Defense League, and in-state dealers and industry members.
Maintaining current law and not levying sales taxation on gold and silver coins and bullion reaffirms their status as money in Washington State, in keeping with Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution.
Remaining in sync with every state in the Pacific Northwest, Washington has upheld their sales tax exemption on the monetary metals that was passed almost 35 years ago.
Sound Money Defense League’s Jp Cortez testified before the legislature in Olympia, Washington, noting that “taxing gold and silver is effectively an investment penalty on the only form of money mentioned in the Constitution.”
Local dealers also testified that their businesses could be damaged or destroyed -- and coin conventions and the economic activity they bring would leave the state -- if sales taxes were suddenly slapped on gold and silver investors.
In addition to the compelling testimony, the politicians proposing the new taxes faced an angry backlash from citizens across Washington who learned of their scheme.
In reality, the national trend is toward removing rather than re-imposing unjust sales taxation from precious metals. In total, 39 states have now wholly or partially exempted the monetary metals from sales and use taxes. Maryland has considered and is expected to vote down a measure to impose taxes on gold and silver, while Hawaii and Tennessee are expected to consider measures to remove taxes on the metals.
Jp Cortez is the Executive Director for the Sound Money Defense League, a non-partisan, national public policy group working to restore sound money at the state and federal level, and lead author of the Sound Money Index.
