Idaho House of Representatives Votes Overwhelmingly to Remove Income Taxation from Precious Metals

Boise, Idaho (March 14, 2017) – By an overwhelming 56-13 margin, the Idaho House of Representatives today voted to end all Idaho taxation on precious metals, e.g. gold and silver coins and bars.

Bill sponsor Representative Mike Moyle (R) and the entire Republican caucus voted for the measure.  If the Republican-controlled Idaho Senate follows suit and Governor Butch Otter (R) signs the bill, Idaho citizens will better be able to use gold and silver as a form of savings which protects against ongoing devaluation of America’s currency.

Backed by the Sound Money Defense League, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Money Metals Exchange, and grassroots activists, HB 206 expands Idaho’s existing sales tax exemption to end Idaho income taxation of sales of “precious metals bullion” and “monetized bullion.”

“According to the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10, there is only one thing that a state can declare as currency if they think that our federal currency is going out of whack and some might argue that they think our federal currency is going out of whack already,” said Representative Ron Nate (R) from the House floor.

“If we are not going to allow people to declare capital losses on their Federal Reserve Notes or their dollar holdings, it would also be unfair to tax people for their gold and silver holdings. Gold and silver is an alternative to holding Federal Reserve Notes and it is the ONLY alternative that the U.S. Constitution says that the state can allow as another currency. It’s unfair to tax it just as [it's unfair] to tax losses on Federal Reserve Notes” continued Rep. Nate.

Under current law, the taxpayer who sells their precious metals may end up with a capital “gain” in terms of Federal Reserve Notes – commonly referred to as “dollars.”  This capital ‘gain’ is not necessarily a real gain. It’s often a nominal gain that simply results from the inflation created by the Federal Reserve and the attendant decline in the dollar’s purchasing power. Yet this nominal gain is taxed at the federal level – and taxed again by Idaho.

Under HB 206, precious metals gains and losses reported on a taxpayer’s federal income tax return would be removed from the calculation of the taxpayer’s Idaho taxable income.

“Policies that discourage precious metals ownership reduce the likelihood that Gem State citizens will take prudent steps to insulate themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil caused by the Federal Reserve System,” said Stefan Gleason, director of the Sound Money Defense League. “Precious metals bullion is already exempt from Idaho’s sales tax. HB 206 removes the final disincentive in Idaho tax law that stands against ownership of the monetary metals.”

States are taking actions to defend sound money because the monetary system in America, largely run by the Federal Reserve, has dramatically undermined the purchasing power of the currency to the detriment of savers and wage-earners in particular.

Legislators in Utah and Oklahoma have already enacted similar income tax measures and Arizona may enact its own version of HB206 in the new few weeks. Other states such as Tennessee, Maine, and Alabama are working to remove precious metals from the sales tax – just like Idaho and over 20 states have already done.

For more information on House Bill 206, please follow this link.