Gold and silver, although proven themselves to be the storehouse of wealth, are facing difficult problems at the moment. But one US politician is trying to change this, proposing a new legislation.
On Tuesday, US Representative Alex Mooney introduced the Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act to the House of Representatives.
Under the bill, capital gains, losses, or any other type of federal income calculation will be eliminated, thereby recognizing gold and silver as forms of currency. This is a huge contrast to the current laws that consider them as main assets or "collectibles" that can be subject to taxes.
"In my opinion, gold and silver are both money and legal tender," Mooney said. "That being said, why should they be taxable like collectibles?"
Therefore, the Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act states that "no gain or loss shall be recognized on the sale or exchange of (1) gold, silver, platinum, or palladium minted and issued by the Secretary at any time or (2), refined gold or silver bullion, coins, bars, rounds, or ingots which are valued primarily based on their metal content and not their form."
The proposed law is supported by the Sound Money Defense League, a national public policy group that works to promote gold and silver as a recognized currency in the United States.
It was passed as some state governments seek to recognize the two metals as legal tender, and to abolish capital gains taxes. In 2017, Arizona eliminated government capital gains taxes on silver and gold.
In February, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill that allows the State Treasurer to protect government reserves from inflation and financial risk by storing physical gold and silver. However, it is yet to be approved by the state Senate.
