Gold and silver investors will face a real-life nightmare if a bill that recently passed the Senate becomes law. The bill would tax commerce between the states, something that has been exempt (except for certain circumstances) since the Constitution was ratified. Now, the bill is in the House, where it is known as HR 684 “Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.”
The bill’s supporters say that it would “level the playing field” between “bricks and mortar” stores, which collect local sales taxes, and sellers that deliver across state lines without collecting sales taxes. In reality, it would be a massive tax increase and would burden businesses, large and small alike, with huge compliance costs.
There is nothing “fair” about the act, and certainly not for gold and silver investors. The bill would, for residents of many states, immediately impose taxes on gold and silver purchases while such investments as stocks and bonds remain exempt. This, of course, would not be a “level playing field.” There is no doubt about it, HR 684 would take the luster off investing in gold and silver.
HR 684 can be stopped in the House–if enough Americans let their Representatives know that they should oppose the bill. Members of the House, because they serve only two years between elections, DO LISTEN to their constituents.
Contacting members of Congress is not that difficult. It can be done via emails, letters, faxes and phone calls. Visiting your Congressperson’s office is not necessary but could yield tremendous results if you personally know your Representative. To find out who your Representative is and to learn the various ways to contact him/her, go to Find Your Representative and type in your ZIP.
The really important thing is the number of messages, regardless of the manner of delivery, that our Reps receive in opposition to this bill.
To see the text of HR 684 and to learn where your Rep stands on this bill, go to Marketplace Fairness Act Bill. If your Rep co-sponsored the bill, ask him/her to reverse course. Even if you can’t get him/her to reverse course, you can reduce his/her willingness to fight for the bill as other members of the House oppose it.
My favorite way to contact my Rep on important issues, such as HR 684, is to type and print two copies of a letter and fax it to my Rep’s local office and her DC office. Then I mail a copy to both offices. Faxes are not easy to ignore, and letters, while they take a little time to reach my Rep’s offices, show a strong interest in the matter.
All readers are urged to take action on HR 684 as soon as possible. The sooner members of the House recognize that there is strong opposition, the better. If HR 684 becomes law, it will be a disaster for gold and silver investors.
Wouldn’t a better approach be to stop any tax on gold and silver purchases? This is the real problem since gold and silver are constitutional money. How can get that changed?
You could do in your state as Utah did and get a law declaring gold and silver as legal tender. Or sell it in Utah. But depending on where in Utah, they will finger print you and copy your ID to satisfy the local police big bro tendency.
Having gold and silver declared legal tender at the state level would not eliminate an interstate sales tax if HR 684 becomes a federal law. The solution is to stop HR 684 from becoming law. That can easily be done if enough Americans let their members of the House know that they oppose HR 684.
One need not be eloquent in opposing HR 684. Nor does one need to knows the legal intricacies of the bill. All we need to do is let our reps know we are opposed. Basically, members of Congress just “count noses” when the public become aware of such issues. No one supports HR 684 except taxing authorities that want more revenue. Follow the steps detailed in the post to contact your member in the House.
The IRS doesn’t even recognize PMs as an investment class asset to be entitled to long term capital gains. Instead they are classified as “collectibles” (which probably should be true for some coins but not bullion…then again why shouldn’t one be entitled to LTCG benefits for investing in certain collectibles? Rhetorical question I suppose.)
This new bill will hurt businesses and the economy. As a small business owner myself, I am with you on fighting this bill. Several states are tax exempt from precious metal purchases, but it will still hurt dealers and investors in a big way.
I disagree with the premise of this article. Yes it (HR 684) will make the accumulation of physical gold and silver considerably more expensive to acquire, but as the only safe refuge for capital in the coming days, investors will continue to buy. People in Europe already pay a VAT tax on metal purchases and yet they still continue to stack. I believe the same will hold true here. The big winners are the investors who have already accumulated. This new tax will increase the value of their core holdings substantially.
Most precious metal buyers buy and sell to earn paper dollars or yen or rials, etc. These type investors are not truly interested in the stability of a currency, only the profit they can make off of it. Many of the articles written talk about buying gold and silver to protect against the devaluing march of fiat money, which should be the primary function of purchasing these assets.
If a collapse of a fiat currency takes place, the value of your existing gold and silver, regardless of the price you paid for it, will far exceed your purchase price. Manipulators have been working these markets for paper profits, ignore them. Buy what you can afford and keep it in reserve for the day that will ultimately come because it is coming. If you don’t believe me just track the amount of small arms ammunition sales that are going on. The big institutions are blinded by their own greed while the grass roots is preparing for their failure.
I am older and retired. I am accumulating some silver to stave off the collapse of our fiat currency and to avoid rampant inflation. However, I may have to sell some of my silver to continue to pay bills in our ever more expensive world. I think there are thousands like me. We cannot afford to pay taxes on these investments, either buying or selling!