Announcing the Sound Money Fellowship: Promoting Sound Money Research
The Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange have launched the inaugural Sound Money Fellowship, offering advanced students and independent researchers the opportunity to explore in-depth topics on sound money. Selected fellows will receive a $3,000 stipend and publish their research on platforms like the Sound Money Review. Charlotte, NC / The Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange are proud to announce the inaugural Sound Money Fellowship—a new program designed to foster advanced research in the field of sound money. The two groups have set aside more than 100 ounces of physical gold (currently valued at approximately $260,000) to reward deserving students and researchers advancing original sound money analyses. Building on the overwhelming popularity of the nation’s first gold-backed annual Sound Money Scholarship, the Sound Money Fellowship is open to graduate students, post-graduate students, and independent researchers. The fellowship seeks to advance scholarship pertaining to sound money by encouraging in-depth exploration of monetary history, policy analysis, and comparative studies. Each selected Sound Money Fellow will receive a stipend of $3,000 and will write three articles for publication (750-1000 words) as well as a research paper during a six-month period. The writings and research of Sound Money Fellows will be featured on both the Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals’ websites, as well as in the prestigious Sound Money Review, an annual publication that highlights the contributions of our fellows while serving as a valuable resource for academics, policymakers, and the public. “After almost a decade of receiving hundreds of thoughtful essays on sound money from students all over the world through our Sound Money Scholarship program, we are excited to expand our overall support and thought leadership through the Sound Money Fellowship,” said Jp Cortez, Executive Director of the Sound Money Defense League. “Money Metals is excited to augment its efforts to cultivate the next generation of thought leaders as they make meaningful contributions to the discourse surrounding the monetary future of America, and the world,” said Money Metals president Stefan Gleason. The application period for the 2025 Sound Money Fellowship is now open, with a deadline of December 31, 2024. For more information on the fellowship and how to apply, please visit www.moneymetals.com/fellowship or email fellowship@moneymetals.com. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. About Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in North America and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit www.moneymetals.com. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org2082582528
2024 Sound Money Index Highlights Problematic States, Positive Reforms
With inflation, debt, and financial instability continuing to make headlines, a new national scorecard exposes Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, and Minnesota as America’s absolute worst states for sound money, while Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire came out on top in the rankings. Charlotte, NC / With inflation, debt, and financial instability continuing to make headlines, a new national scorecard exposes Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, and Minnesota as America’s absolute worst states for sound money… …while Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire came out on top in the rankings. Money Metals Exchange, the top-rated precious metals dealer and depository in the United States, has partnered with the Sound Money Defense League to create the 2024 Sound Money Index, ranking all 50 states based on their policies in this increasingly important public policy area. The Index’s scoring system evaluates state laws such as sales and income tax policies concerning precious metals, whether a state affirms the role of gold and silver under the U.S. Constitution, the existence of gold or silver in state pension funds or reserves, the existence of regulations that harm or otherwise punish precious metal dealers and investors, and other relevant issues. Notable changes on the 2024 Sound Money Index since last year include Arkansas’s meteoric ascent from 30th to 5th place as well as Mississippi’s leap from 43rd to 16th place. Building on momentum from 2021’s precious metals sales tax repeal, Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signed a sound money bill to end all income tax liability on the monetary metals, while also reaffirming gold and silver as legal tender and prescribing that state courts should require specific performance when enforcing contracts denominated in gold and silver. After a multi-year legislative effort, Mississippi lawmakers canceled all sales taxes on precious metals. The Magnolia State became the 43rd state in the country to remove taxes on purchases of gold and silver. Meanwhile, Florida passed legislation in 2023 to roll back its harassment laws targeting precious metals dealers, and Tennessee enacted legislation empowering its state treasurer to protect taxpayer reserves with a modest allocation to physical gold and silver. This year’s Index includes a new, 14th criterion: Gross Revenue Tax. Such taxes are levied against total sales of companies in a handful of states. A gross receipts tax is a percentage of the topline revenue received by a business, and it ignores whether a business category has a high or low gross profit margins A gross revenue tax on precious metals businesses is extremely burdensome when compared to other types of businesses. That’s because precious metals dealers operate on extremely small gross profit margins — margins that are similar in scale to those on transactions involving real property, investments, or other goods sold by brokerages, which are usually exempt from state gross revenue tax schemes in the first place. Oregon passed legislation in 2023 joining the vast majority of states that have exempted precious metals dealers from gross receipts tax or which don’t impose this tax at all. However, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Delaware all lost points on the 2024 Sound Money Index for their controversial gross revenue tax regimes. “As inflation eats away at American families, the Sound Money Index holds states accountable for their policies impacting sound money, explained Jp Cortez, Executive Director of the Sound Money Defense League. “In response to this pressing issue, forward-thinking policymakers in half the states across the U.S., including the five that successfully passed bills, proposed legislation in 2023 that promoted and protected the use, sale, and purchase of gold and silver in their respective states.” The complete 2024 Sound Money Index is available here: https://www.moneymetals.com/guides/sound-money-index About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. About Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org404-948-8935
Sound Money Scholarship Awards $13,500 to 9 Outstanding Students
Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League award more than $10,000 to deserving students Charlotte, NC / With the world facing high levels of inflation and financial instability, more students than ever applied this year for the Sound Money Scholarship, the only known gold-backed scholarship program worldwide. Roughly 150 applicants across 3 continents, a half dozen countries, and 35 states competed for $13,500 in funding – with nine high school, undergraduate, and graduate students ultimately earning a scholarship check for their outstanding applications. Launched in 2016, the Sound Money Scholarship is an annual essay contest organized by Money Metals Exchange, the U.S. precious-metals dealer ranked “Best Overall” and the Sound Money Defense League, a national public policy group at the forefront of sound money legislative battles across the country. These groups endowed their scholarship fund by setting aside 100 ounces of physical gold with the stipulation that it be used to reward exemplary students who display a thorough understanding of economics, monetary policy, and sound money. This year, student essays addressed topics such as the problems of the Federal Reserve System, how a monetary system based on sound money could be restored, Central Bank Digital Currencies, and how a growing BRICS trade alliance might impact the United States. “Americans are suffering under the policies and decisions of Washington DC politicians and Federal Reserve central bankers that have drained the dollar of its value – and students are certainly among the victims,” said Stefan Gleason, Chief Executive Officer of Money Metals Exchange. “For almost a decade, we’ve provided an opportunity for students to further their understanding of sound money through our annual scholarship competition, while helping the most outstanding of those students pay the ever-increasing costs of attending college,” continued Gleason. The 2023 Sound Money Scholarship winners are as follows: High School Winners: • First place ($2,000): Maanas Irukulapati, Olentangy Orange High School• Second place ($1,000): Mosammad Khanom, Stuyvesant High School Undergraduate Winners: • First place ($2,500): Louis Manzella, University of Tampa• Second place ($2,000): Nicole Huete, University of Maryland• Third place ($1,500): Samuel Peterson, Grove City College• Fourth place ($1,000): Scott Cross, Grove City College• Fifth place ($500): Weston Pierce, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Graduate Winners: • First place ($2,000): Benjamin Seevers, West Virginia University• Second place ($1,000): JoElla Kleinhesselink, London School of Economics A blue-ribbon panel of judges helped select the finalists: • Judge Andrew Napolitano, Former Fox News Analyst, Best-selling author and commentator • Dr. Peter St. Onge, Economist, Heritage Foundation• Dr. Robert Wright, American Institute for Economic Research• Dr. Thomas Hogan, American Institute for Economic Research “The overwhelming interest in the 2023 Sound Money Scholarship was deeply heartening. At a time not only of high inflation and bank instability but also states advancing dozens of sound money bills, this fundamentally important issue is reaching an inflection point,” said Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League. The deadline to submit applications for consideration next year is October 31, 2024. For more information, visit moneymetals.com/scholarship or email scholarship@moneymetals.com. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935
Oregon Governor Signs Bill Ending Unjust Corporate Activity Tax on Precious Metals Dealers and Investors
With the stroke of her pen, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek put an end to the state’s punitive Corporate Activity Tax as applied to precious metals dealers and, ultimately, to gold and silver investors, effective in 2024. Salem, OR / With the stroke of her pen, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek put an end to the state’s punitive Corporate Activity Tax as applied to precious metals dealers and, ultimately, to gold and silver investors, effective in 2024. Supporting the efforts of in-state small business owners, the Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange mobilized grassroots support and worked in other ways to secure the passage of House Bill 2073, a package of corporate activity tax (CAT) reforms and cleanups which included the exemption of precious metals sales from Oregon’s CAT. Gold and silver businesses operate on extremely small margins—margins that are similar in scale to brokerages, which are already exempt from the CAT. A CAT imposed on topline precious metals sales revenue is therefore extremely burdensome when compared to the taxes paid by other current CAT payers. Furthermore, these increased costs on precious metals businesses ultimately are passed through to Oregon savers and investors. Oregon is among the 43 states that do not directly impose sales taxes on precious metals, but Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) had been doing this in a back-door manner. “It’s bad public policy to penalize small-time savers and investors—as well as the businesses that support them,” said Stefan Gleason, president of Idaho-based Money Metals Exchange. “The trend across the nation is to reduce the costs and obstacles in the way of preserving wealth in the form of gold and silver.” Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia passed legislation within the last two years to exempt precious metals-related purchases from taxation in their states. Oregon is the latest state to promote sound money by removing the CAT from precious metals dealers and their customers. Sound money advocates have targeted the elimination of discriminatory tax policies that discourage precious metals ownership reducing the likelihood that citizens will take steps to insulate themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil that flows from the Federal Reserve System. Sound Money Defense League policy director Jp Cortez testified in support of House Bill 2073, making the following public policy arguments: •Taxing gold and silver harms in-state businesses. It’s a competitive marketplace, so buyers will take their business to neighboring states (which have all eliminated or reduced taxes on precious metals), thereby undermining Oregon businesses and jobs. •Gold and silver are the only money mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Article 1, Section 10 states that “no state shall make any Thing but Gold and Silver a tender in payment of debts.” Therefore, the exchange of one form of U.S. money for another should not be taxed. •Taxing precious metals businesses is harmful to small-time savers. Purchasers of precious metals aren’t usually fat-cat investors. Most who buy precious metals do so in small increments as a way of saving money, seeking to preserve their wealth against the damages of inflation. “Oregon should not be increasing the costs of saving in a proven inflation hedge—especially considering the economic danger that currently faces the nation. Inflation harms the poorest among us, including pensioners, Oregonians on fixed incomes, wage earners, savers, and more,” said Cortez. “We congratulate Oregon on enacting House Bill 2073, and we encourage other states to follow their lead in promoting sound money principles and reducing obstacles to wealth preservation,” Cortez concluded. The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/. Media Contact Jp CortezJp.cortez@moneymetals.com4049488935
Gold-backed Scholarship Offers Deserving Students Opportunity to Save on College
A national precious-metals dealer is teaming up with a sound money policy group to help students pay for the ever-increasing expenses associated with continuing education. Charlotte, NC / A national precious-metals dealer is teaming up with a sound money policy group to help students pay for the ever-increasing expenses associated with continuing education. Money Metals Exchange has teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League to offer the Sound Money Scholarship — the first gold-backed scholarship of the modern era. Starting in 2016, these organizations have set aside 100 ounces of physical gold (currently worth more than $190,000) to reward outstanding students who display a thorough understanding of economics, monetary policy, and sound money. The Sound Money Scholarship is open to high school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate students with an interest in economics, specifically the free-market tradition. Applicants do not have to be economics majors to be eligible to receive this scholarship. Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League also announced this year’s blue-ribbon panel of judges: Thomas Hogan, PhD,is a Senior Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He was formerly the Chief Economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs. Peter St. Onge, PhD, is an economist at the Heritage Foundation, a Fellow at the Mises Institute, and a former MBA professor in Taiwan. He makes daily videos about economics and Freedom. Judge Andrew Napolitano is a Former Fox News Analyst, a best-selling author and commentator, and the host of “Judging Freedom” podcast. Robert Wright, PhD, is a Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is the co-author or co-editor of over two dozen major books, book series, and edited collections. In prior years, the Sound Money Scholarship has received entries from students attending more than 150 different schools across 44 states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., six countries, and three continents. The deadline to submit applications is October 31, 2023. For more information, please visit moneymetals.com/scholarship or email scholarship@moneymetals.com. The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/. Media Contact Jp Cortezjpcortez27@gmail.com4049488935
Arkansas Passes Legal Tender Act, Removes Taxes on Gold and Silver
Arkansas Governor Signs Senate Bill 1718, Reaffirming Gold and Silver as Legal Tender and Removing All Tax Liability from the Monetary Metals Little Rock, AR / Sound money advocates are rejoicing as House Bill 1718, the Arkansas Legal Tender Act has become the law in the Natural State. Backed by the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and sound money advocates and supporters throughout the state, HB 1718 reaffirms gold and silver as legal tender, as well as ends all taxes on purchase, sale, or exchange of specie, including state capital gains taxes. The Arkansas Legal Tender Act, introduced by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – 18) and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R – 18), passed overwhelmingly out of the House by a vote of 82-8, passed unanimously out of the Senate with a 32-0 vote, and ultimately received Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signature on April 11. Specie is defined as “Coin having gold or silver content; or refined gold or silver bullion that is coined, stamped, or imprinted with its weight and purity; and valued primarily based on its metal content not its form.” The measure continues, “Specie or legal tender shall not be characterized as personal property for taxation or regulatory purposes.” To remove any doubt of the legislature’s intent, HB 1718 explicitly states, “the exchange of one type or form of legal tender for another type or form of legal tender shall not give rise to any tax liability,” and, “the purchase, sale, or exchange of any type or form of specie shall not give rise to any tax liability.” This measure builds on momentum on sound money from previous Arkansas legislative sessions. With strong support from the Sound Money Defense League and grassroots activists, Arkansas passed SB 336 in 2021, ending state sales taxes on purchases of gold and silver. Now, with the passage of HB 1718, Arkansas becomes the 11th state also to end capital gains taxes as applied to the sale of gold and silver (with some of those states simply having no income taxes in the first place). Ending income / capital gains taxes on precious metals sales is becoming more popular. Understandably so, considering that if taxpayers own gold or silver to protect themselves against the devaluation of America’s paper currency, thanks to the inflationary practices of the Federal Reserve, they frequently end up with a nominal “gain” when exchanging those metals back into dollars. However, such gains are not necessarily a real in terms of translating to an actual increase in purchasing power. This “gain” is often a nominal gain because of the slow but steady devaluation of the Federal Reserve note dollar. Yet the government nevertheless assesses a tax. Under HB 1718, the era of taxing gold and silver in Arkansas has come to an end. In 2023, bills to restore sound, constitutional money have also been introduced in Alaska, Iowa, West Virginia, South Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota, Tennessee, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, and more. These measures would end taxes on the metals, reaffirm gold and silver as money, establish in-state depositories, enable State Treasurers to invest state funds in the metals, and more. “States all over the country are waking up to the precarious condition of America’s money. Arkansas is helping lead the way in defending and restoring sound money, as well as removing the disincentives for citizens to protect themselves from the inflation and financial turmoil that flows from the Federal Reserve System,” said Jp Cortez, policy director of the Sound Money Defense League. Currently Arkansas is ranked 30th out of 50 in the 2023 Sound Money Index. Passage of this measure will increase the state’s ranking dramatically. The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. Recently named “Best Overall” gold and silver dealer in the United States by Investopedia, Money Metals Exchange serves almost 500,000 customers nationwide. A family-owned Idaho business founded in 2010, it also operates Money Metals Depository for vaulting of gold and silver and Money Metals Capital Group, a collateral lending institution. Media Contact Jp CortezJp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935
Three Congressmen Introduce Gold Standard Bill to Stabilize the Dollar’s Value
Washington, D.C. / As America faces the twin threats of inflation and bank failures, three U.S. congressmen introduced a pivotal sound money bill that would enable the Federal Reserve note “dollar” to regain stable footing for the first time in more than half a century. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) – joined by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) – introduced H.R. 2435, the “Gold Standard Restoration Act,” to facilitate the repegging of the volatile Federal Reserve note to a fixed weight of gold bullion. Upon passage of H.R. 2435, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve are given 24 months to publicly disclose all gold holdings and gold transactions, after which time the Federal Reserve note “dollar” would be formally repegged to a fixed weight of gold at its then-market price. Federal Reserve notes would become fully redeemable for and exchangeable with gold at the new price, with the U.S. Treasury and its gold reserves backstopping Federal Reserve Banks as guarantor. Monetary experts have noted a return to a gold standard would substantially curtail the economic damage caused by inflation, runaway federal debt, and monetary system instability. “A gold standard would protect against Washington’s irresponsible spending habits and the creation of money out of thin air,” said Rep. Mooney in a statement. “Prices would be shaped by economics rather than the instincts of bureaucrats. No longer would American families, businesses, and the economy as a whole be at the mercy of the Federal Reserve and reckless Washington spenders.” The Gold Standard Restoration Act also makes several findings as to the harm the Federal Reserve System has inflicted on everyday Americans – particularly since President Richard Nixon “temporarily suspended” gold backing of America’s monetary system in 1971. H.R. 2435 points out: “The Federal Reserve note has lost more than 40 percent of its purchasing power since 2000, and 97 percent of its purchasing power since the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.” Historians have observed that the elimination of gold redeemability from the monetary system freed central bankers and federal government officials from accountability when they expand the money supply, fund government deficits though trillion-dollar bond purchases, or otherwise manipulate the economy. “At times, including 2021 and 2022, Federal Reserve actions helped create inflation rates of 8 percent or higher, increasing the cost of living for many Americans to untenable levels…enrich[ing] the owners of financial assets while… endanger[ing] the jobs, wages, and savings of blue-collar workers,” H.R. 2435 states. Notably, Rep. Mooney’s bill would also require full disclosure of all central bank and U.S. government gold holdings and gold-related financial transactions over the last 6 decades – a seemingly taboo subject surrounded by mystery and deception. “To enable the market and market participants to arrive at the fixed Federal Reserve note dollar-gold parity in an orderly fashion… the Secretary and the Federal Reserve shall each make publicly available… all holdings of gold, with a report of any purchases, sales, swaps, leases, and any other financial transactions involving gold, since the temporary suspension in August 15th, 1971, of gold redeemability obligations under the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944.” In the years leading up to Nixon’s panicked “temporary suspension” of gold redeemability, abusive U.S. deficit spending and currency debasement had prompted many foreign central banks to turn in their Federal Reserve notes for gold. However, this disgorgement of America’s gold holdings was largely conducted in secret. That’s why H.R. 2435 also requires the Fed and the Treasury to disclose “all records pertaining to redemptions and transfers of United States gold in the 10 years preceding the temporary suspension in August 15, 1971, of gold redeemability obligations.” U.S. sound money groups and industry leaders are cheering Mooney’s actions. “Government cannot continue to spend and print on a massive scale without producing existential threats to the currency and our economy,” said Lawrence W. Reed, president emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education. “The gold standard never failed America, bad ideas and bad politicians did. If we do nothing, disaster awaits us just as it drowned earlier civilizations that spent and inflated their way to ruin,” Reed continued. “Today’s debt-based fiat-money system serves primarily to support big government and wealthy financial insiders – while the Federal Reserve’s serial policy of currency debasement punishes savers and wage earners,” explained Stefan Gleason, President of the Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange. “A return to gold redeemability would arrest the problem of inflation, restrain the growth of wasteful and inefficient government, and kick off an exciting new era of American prosperity,” Gleason concluded. The full text of Rep. Mooney’s gold standard bill can be found here. It was introduced on March 30, 2023, and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. About Money Metals Exchange Recently named “Best Overall” gold and silver dealer in the United States by Investopedia, Money Metals Exchange serves almost 500,000 customers nationwide. A family-owned Idaho business founded in 2010, it also operates Money Metals Depository for vaulting of gold and silver and Money Metals Capital Group, a collateral lending institution. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org800-800-1865
Lawmakers in Tennessee and Virginia Named 2022’s Sound Money Legislators of the Year
Tennessee legislators Rep. Bud Hulsey and Sen. Frank Niceley and Virginia delegate Amanda Batten have been awarded the 2022 Sound Money Legislator of the Year Award Charlotte, NC / America’s top-rated national precious metals dealer has teamed up with the preeminent sound money public policy group in recognizing three outstanding state lawmakers for their leadership in advancing sound money policies during 2022. As the year comes to a close, Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League have named Tennessee State lawmakers Rep. Bud Hulsey and Sen. Frank Niceley in Tennessee and Delegate Amanda Batten in Virginia as “Sound Money Legislators of the Year.” Hulsey and Niceley won their multi-year battle to eliminate unjust sales taxation of the monetary metals in the Volunteer State, passing House Bill 1874 and Senate Bill 1857 in May. Meanwhile, Virginia Delegate Amanda Batten successfully passed House Bill 936, not only extending the sunset date on Virginia’s existing sales tax exemption but also eliminating the state’s regressive taxation of all precious metals purchases below $1,000. “We’ve been working with Rep. Hulsey since 2017 to eliminate the sales tax on purchases of precious metals in Tennessee – and Senator Niceley played a pivotal role in the state senate,” said Sound Money Defense League policy director Jp Cortez. “I’ve been working to free gold and silver from sales taxes in Tennessee since my kids were in elementary school,” said sponsor Rep. Hulsey. “The Sound Money Defense League, in-state dealers, and folks all across Tennessee made their voices heard and helped get this bill across the finish line.” Tennessee became the 42nd state in the U.S. to have partially or fully removed sales taxes on constitutional sound money (i.e. gold and silver) and it also moved up the rankings on the Sound Money Index to 9th place. In 2022, 11 states across the U.S. introduced 24 pieces of legislation seeking to eliminate taxation on the sale and purchase of gold and silver, expand and extend existing sales tax exemptions on precious metals, establish an in-state gold depository, and bolster state taxpayer funds with physical gold and silver. Of the 8 states that still impose a sales tax on purchases of precious metals, sound money forces expect exemption bills to be introduced in Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, and Wisconsin in the upcoming 2023 legislative season. Allies in a handful of states are also aiming to eliminate state-level capital gains taxes on sales of precious metals coins and bullion, including Alabama, Michigan, Washington, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Idaho. Idaho will also consider investing a portion of state funds in physical gold. And Tennessee and Wyoming may do so as well. Wyoming is also considering a system where the state treasurer establishes a mechanism for accepting and remitting payments in gold and silver. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935
Wyoming & South Dakota Top 2023’s Sound Money Index
Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer, depository, and collateral lending institution, has again teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League, an influential public policy group, to produce the Sound Money Index Charlotte, NC / Residents of Wyoming and South Dakota live in the most pro-sound money states in the U.S., according to the 2023 Sound Money Index released today. Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer, depository, and collateral lending institution, has again teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League, an influential public policy group, to produce this authoritative ranking. While the nation faces staggering inflation rates and ongoing financial turmoil, the Sound Money Index ranks all 50 states on their policies in this area of growing relevance. The biggest positive mover on the index this year was Tennessee, which jumped from 36th to 9th place. Meanwhile, Washington State plummeted from 7th to 34th place. The index’s scoring system examines sales and income tax policies involving precious metals, whether a state recognizes the monetary role of gold and silver under the U.S. Constitution, whether a state holds pension, reserves, or bonds in gold or silver, whether a state has imposed precious metal dealer and investor harassment laws, and other criteria. The 2023 Sound Money Index also includes a new 13th ranking criterion – Specie Tender Mechanisms. This category examines whether a state has created a system to remit and accept gold and silver for payment of fees and taxes. After years of support from the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and in-state advocates, Tennessee finally eliminated the state’s sales tax on precious metals, securing a 9th place ranking on the 2023 index after previously ranking 36th. Meanwhile, Virginia passed legislation eliminating their discriminatory practice of assessing sales taxes on smaller purchases (under $1,000) of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion and coins. This took Virginia from 38th to 23rd place. On the negative side, tax-and-spend politicians in Washington State slapped a 7% capital gains tax on the sale of all assets, including precious metals, sinking the state’s ranking from 7th place to 34th place. Among the worst states in the country on the 2023 index – Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, Kentucky, Mississippi, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Hawaii – are states that continue to charge sales taxes on purchases of sound money, with many of those states also states charging sales tax rates above the national average. 42 states now fully or partially exempt gold and silver from sales taxes, marginalizing these 8 states out on the fringe. “As inflation rages on, the Sound Money Index holds states accountable for their policies impacting sound money. Forward-thinking policymakers are pursuing ways to promote and protect the use, sale, and purchase of gold and silver in their states,” explained Jp Cortez, Policy Director of the Sound Money Defense League. “While inflation is a policy choice by the Federal Reserve and the federal government, states do not have to sit idly by while their citizens are fleeced,” continued Cortez. “States can and should enact policies to mitigate some of the damage wrought by the ongoing debasement of our money.” The complete 2023 Sound Money Index is available here: https://www.moneymetals.com/guides/sound-money-index To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:Jp Cortez, Policy Director, Sound Money Defense League404-948-8935jp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org The Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally to restore sound money at the state and federal level. Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals company recently named “Best in the USA” by an independent global ratings group and serves almost 500,000 investors in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company also operates the largest precious metals depository in the western United States and a collateral lending group. For more information, please visit https://www.moneymetals.com/.
Sound Money Movement Scores 2022 Wins
As state legislatures clear out and head home for the summer, one reality has emerged: Sound money is a winning issue in the states. Charlotte, NC / As state legislatures clear out and head home for the summer, one reality has emerged: Sound money is a winning issue in the states. At a time of record-high inflation and geopolitical uncertainty across the globe, states are wisely taking steps to better enable citizens to acquire, sell, and/or usegold and silver. Last year, Arkansas and Ohio repealed sales taxes on gold and silver coins, bars, and rounds. And Ohio invested almost $1 billion worth of physical gold in itsOhio Police and Fire Pension fund. This year brought three new legislative victories in Tennessee, Virginia, and Alabama, thanks largely to efforts by Money Metals Exchange, its customers, and itsSound Money Defense League project. All told, sound money allies introduced bills in 11 states to remove sales and income taxation on the monetary metals, create state depositories, and/or protectstate pensions and reserves with an allocation to physical gold. Here’s a full rundown… Eleven States Considered Sound Money Bills This Year Virginia had exempted sales taxes on most purchases of precious metals back in 2015, but purchases under $1,000 were still taxed and the whole exemption wasscheduled to sunset this year. Mobilizing grassroots support, the Sound Money Defense League worked with Delegate Amanda Batten’s office on House Bill 936 and secured a five-yearextension of the existing exemption, while also securing its expansion to cover ALL transaction sizes. Before the ink could dry on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s signature, Alabama finalized sound money legislation of its own. In addition to prompting in-state supporters to make literally thousands of calls and emails to members of the Alabama House and Senate, Money Metals’ publicpolicy team worked closely with legislative allies to extend Alabama’s precious metals sales tax exemption and also clarify that the exemption covers ALL commonforms of bullion. The successful Alabama bill also removed some burdensome reporting requirements. During a house committee hearing on Alabama’s Senate Bill 13, the committee chairman proclaimed the precious metals bill was “the most popular bill of thesession.” Governor Kay Ivey’s signed SB 13 into law in April. Meanwhile, a groundswell of Volunteer State citizens prompted the Tennessee legislature to secure its place as the 42nd state to remove sales taxes from gold,silver, platinum, and palladium coins, bars, and rounds. During the Senate floor vote, Sen. Janice Bowling commented, “I just want to thank the senator for bringing forward this bill along with half of the state ofTennessee that contacted all of us!” Meanwhile, sound money bills in other states fell short of passage, but efforts laid the groundwork for victories in 2023 and beyond. Kentucky House Bill 272 aimed to remove sales taxes on gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bars, but the measure did not receive a hearing this year. In Mississippi, the Sound Money Defense League worked with Rep. Jill Ford, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, and in-state supporters to advance House Bill426, another sales tax exemption effort. HB 426 passed the Mississippi House by a vote of 121-1 but died in Sen. Briggs Hopson’s Senate Appropriations Committee without a hearing. In Hawaii, Rep. Val Okimoto led the way in pushing sound money legislation (House Bill 1184) out of the House Finance Committee. It passed overwhelmingly outof the full House but failed to receive a hearing before Hawaii’s Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Alaska held two hearings on House Bill 167, a measure to declare gold and silver “specie legal tender” as well as prevent boroughs andcities from slapping sales taxes on purchases of the monetary metals. In the Garden State, Assemblyman Ronald Dancer introduced A3007 to end New Jersey’s sales taxes on precious metals. A companion bill was introduced in theNew Jersey Senate while other cosponsors joined the effort. New Jersey’s legislature is still in session, so there’s still an outside chance of progress there this year. Meanwhile, Oklahomans appear eager to build on the Sooner State’s existing sound money policies. Proponents introduced bills to eliminate capital gains tax onthe sale of precious metals, establish an in-state gold depository, and protect taxpayer reserve funds with gold and silver. These bills enjoyed grassroots support,but they did not pass out of any committees. West Virginia and Washington legislatures introduced measures to eliminate various tax liabilities on precious metals, but these bills didn’t receive hearings in2022. The Idaho House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would permit the state treasurer to hold gold as a hedge against the state’s massive pile of negative yieldingdebt paper, but the senate failed to act on the bill. In the end, the big news for 2022 is the newly minted sales tax exemption in Tennessee – followed by more incremental wins in Virginia and Alabama. Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, and Wisconsin remain as the only states that still charge full sales taxes on preciousmetals, without any exceptions. As the de facto public policy leaders for the entire precious metals industry, Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League are preparing toredouble efforts in the remaining eight sales tax states and continue pushing ahead on other policy fronts. We’ve been blessed to have broad public support onour side — along with help from local dealers and groups like Campaign for Liberty. As inflation rages on, the folly of endless currency printing becomes more undeniable. Thankfully, individuals, states, and even countries are increasingly considering the role of gold and silver in protecting against the twin threats of Federal ReserveNote devaluation and weaponization. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League, a non-partisan, national public policy group working to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. About Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals investment company and news service with more than 600,000 readers and 500,000 customers. It also operates Money Metals
Gold Backed Scholarship Returns for Seventh Year; Blue-Ribbon Judges Panel Announced
For the seventh straight year, a national precious-metals dealer has teamed up with a sound money policy group to help students pay for the ever-increasing costs of college. Charlotte, NC / For the seventh straight year, a national precious-metals dealer has teamed up with a sound money policy group to help students pay for the ever-increasing costs of college. Money Metals Exchange has teamed up with the Sound Money Defense League to offer the Sound Money Scholarship — the first gold-backed scholarship of the modern era. Starting in 2016, these organizations have set aside 100 ounces of physical gold (currently worth more than $180,000) to reward outstanding students who display a thorough understanding of economics, monetary policy, and sound money. The Sound Money Scholarship is open to high school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate students with an interest in economics, specifically the free-market tradition. Applicants do not have to be economics majors to be eligible to receive this scholarship. Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League also announced this year’s blue-ribbon panel of judges: Eric Brakey served two terms in the Maine Senate (2014-2018), passing Constitutional Carry, Right to Try, and pro-market reforms for medical cannabis. In 2012, Eric was the state director for the Ron Paul presidential campaign and led the Defense of Liberty PAC in Maine. Eric ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 as the Maine Republican nominee, and was nominated by legislative Republicans in 2020 for Maine Secretary of State. In recent years, Eric has worked with Young Americans for Liberty to elect liberty candidates to state legislatures and is now running to reclaim his former seat in the Maine Senate. Keith Weiner is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Monetary Metals, an investment firm that is unlocking the productivity of gold. Keith is an economist who is a leading authority in the areas of gold, money, and credit and has made important contributions to monetary theory. He is also a serial entrepreneur who specializes in businesses that solve hard problems. Peter St. Onge is an economist at the Heritage Foundation, a fellow at the Mises Institute, and a contributor at Zerohedge. He holds a PhD in economics from George Mason University, is a former professor at Taiwan’s Feng Chia University, and before academia was a marketing executive at two Fortune 500 companies. Tho Bishop is the Associate Editor for the Mises Institute, and author of the animated series “What Has Government Done To Our Money?” He previously served as Deputy Communications Director for the House Financial Services Committee. In prior years, the Sound Money Scholarship has received entries from students attending more than 150 different schools in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., six countries, and three continents. The deadline to submit applications is October 31, 2022. For more information, please visit moneymetals.com/scholarship or email scholarship@moneymetals.com. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League, a non-partisan, national public policy group working to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. About Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals investment company and news service with more than 600,000 readers and 500,000 customers. It also operates Money Metals Depository for vaulting of gold and silver and Money Metals Capital Group, a collateral lending institution. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935
Tennessee Governor Signs Full Repeal of Sales Taxes on Gold and Silver
With Governor Bill Lee’s signature on Friday, Tennessee has officially become the 42nd state in the U.S. to remove sales taxes from constitutional sound money (i.e., gold and silver) Nashville, TN / With Governor Bill Lee’s signature on Friday, Tennessee has officially become the 42nd state in the U.S. to remove sales taxes from constitutional sound money (i.e., gold and silver). Tennessee’s House Bill 1874 and Senate Bill 1857, introduced by Representative Bud Hulsey (R-2) and Senator Frank Niceley (R-8) passed both chambers of the Tennessee legislature overwhelmingly last month and took effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature at the start of Memorial Day weekend. Substantial grassroots support tipped the balance. During the Senate floor vote, Senator Janice Bowling (R-16) commented, “I’d just want to thank the senator for bringing forward this bill along with half of the state of Tennessee that contacted all of us!” The victory puts a capstone on long-running efforts by the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, Campaign for Liberty, and grassroots activists and coin dealers in Tennessee. Tennessee investors, savers, and small businesses can now acquire gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion and coins without being slapped with taxes as high as 10%, depending on the purchaser’s specific location. Lead sponsor Hulsey said, “I’ve been working to free gold and silver from sales taxes in Tennessee since my kids were in elementary school. The Sound Money Defense League, in-state dealers, and folks all across Tennessee made their voices heard and helped get this bill across the finish line.” Meanwhile, similar bills have recently been under consideration in Kentucky, Mississippi, Hawaii, Maine, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, as the nation’s inflation problem expands and as the national backlash against taxing constitutional money expands. Including Tennessee, 42 U.S. states now fully or partially exempt gold and silver from the sales taxes. That leaves 8 just states and the District of Columbia as the primary jurisdictions that still harshly penalize citizens seeking to protect their savings against the serial devaluation of the Federal Reserve Note. States have been removing sales taxes from monetary metals for the following reasons: *** Taxing precious metals is unfair to certain savers and investors. Gold and silver are held as forms of savings and investment. States do not tax the purchase of stocks, bonds, ETFs, currencies, and other financial instruments, so it makes no sense to tax monetary metals. *** Levying sales taxes on precious metals is illogical because gold and silver are inherently held for resale. Sales taxes are typically levied on final consumer goods. Precious metals are inherently held for resale, not “consumption,” making the application of sales taxes on precious metals illogical and especially inappropriate. *** Taxing gold and silver harms in-state businesses. It’s a competitive marketplace, so buyers in states with precious-metals sales taxes often take their business to neighboring states that have eliminated or reduced sales tax on precious metals. Investors can easily avoid paying $136.50 in sales taxes, for example, on a $1,950 purchase of a one-ounce gold bar. Therefore, levying sales tax on precious metals harms in-state businesses, who lose business to out-of-state precious metals dealers. Coin conventions also tend to avoid the sales tax states. *** Taxing precious metals is harmful to citizens attempting to protect their assets. Purchasers of precious metals aren’t fat-cat investors. Most who buy precious metals do so in small increments as a way of saving money. Precious metals investors are purchasing precious metals as a way to preserve their wealth against the damages of inflation. Inflation harms the poorest among us—including pensioners, Tennesseans on fixed incomes, wage-earners, savers, and more. Jp Cortez, policy director for the Sound Money Defense League, noted in his testimony before the Tennessee House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee that “the vast majority of states realize that taxing sound money harms in-state investors, in-state businesses, and even state revenues.” Cortez continued: “At a time of record high inflation, Tennessee shouldn’t be punishing citizens with sales taxes for choosing to protect the purchasing power of their savings with sound money.” Having eliminated sales taxes on the monetary metals, Tennessee will rise from 36th in the Sound Money Index to 9th place among the 50 states. About The Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League, a non-partisan, national public policy group working to restore sound money at the state and federal level and publisher of the Sound Money Index. About Money Metals Exchange Money Metals Exchange is a national precious metals investment company and news service with more than 500,000 readers and 350,000 customers. It also operates Money Metals Depository for vaulting of gold and silver and Money Metals Capital Group, a collateral lending institution. Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935
Idaho House Votes for Potential Gold and Silver Allocation to Hedge State Funds
Boise, ID / The Idaho State House today overwhelmingly approved a bill which enables the State Treasurer to protect state reserve funds from inflation and financial risk by holding physical gold and silver. State representatives voted 55-14 to pass House Bill 522, the Idaho Sound Money Reserves Act, sending the measure introduced by Representative Ron Nate (R-Rexburg) to the Senate for a hearing. Supported by Idahoans and groups such as Sound Money Defense League, HB 522 would permit – but not require – the State Treasurer to hold some portion of state funds in physical gold and silver to help secure state assets against the risks of inflation and financial turmoil and/or to achieve capital gains as measured in devaluing Federal Reserve Notes. Speaking on the house floor, Rep. Nate noted, “Idaho’s current investments are comprised almost entirely of debt instruments with a negative real yield, plus they have a default risk. That’s risk without reward. We need to give our Treasurer another tool in the toolbox, the option to hold gold and silver, to protect taxpayer funds.” The State Treasurer currently has few options for holding, managing, and investing Idaho’s “idle moneys.” Due to statutory constraints, Idaho’s reserves are invested almost exclusively in low-yielding debt paper that carries counterparty risk while its value is diminished by inflation. In a recent Idaho Statesman column, Stefan Gleason, president of Idaho-based Money Metals Exchange, explained that “the Idaho State Treasurer’s office today has upwards of $10 billion in assets under management – the value of which is rapidly bleeding away through negative real interest rates.” “That’s because the state reserves are principally invested in low-interest debt paper, e.g., U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, corporate debt, repurchase agreements, and other dollar-denominated debt,” Gleason continued. Responding to growing concerns about rising government debts and Federal Reserve money printing, Ohio recently followed Texas in acquiring a 5% physical gold holding in its public pension funds. Oklahoma is among other states currently considering bills like HB 522. Jp Cortez, policy director of the Sound Money Defense League, said, “Inflation has reached every Idaho home to the tune of at least 7%, which means that the real annual rate of return for Idaho taxpayers on its $10 billion in ‘idle moneys’ is deeply negative, perhaps greater than $500 million.” HB 522 adds the authority to hold physical gold and silver directly and in a manner that does not assume the counterparty and default risks involved with other state holdings. HB 522 bill does not grant any authority to buy stocks, futures contracts, or other gold-based proxies or financial instruments. There are at least four depositories in the region that would be eligible to hold Idaho’s gold and/or silver. “An allocation to physical gold and silver fits squarely within the objective of protecting Idaho taxpayer funds against financial risks and the monetary metals would logically be included in a list of safe investment options,” said Gleason. “Gold and silver can provide a hedge against inflation, debt default risks, and stock market declines – and have historically boosted investment returns while also reducing volatility.” House Bill 522 can be heard before the Senate State Affairs Committee as early as next week. About Sound Money Defense League The Sound Money Defense League is a public policy group working nationally to promote sound money policies, including reaffirming the constitutional role of gold and silver as money. For comment or more information, call 1-208-577-2225 or email jp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org. https://www.soundmoneydefense.org/ Media Contact Jp Cortezjp.cortez@soundmoneydefense.org4049488935