As IBAT continues the fight against “transactional gold” in Texas, lawmakers in Arkansas and Florida have taken final steps in recent weeks to ensure that gold and silver are considered legal tender in those states. In both cases, the states stop short of creating their own currencies, choosing instead to recognize existing gold and silver bullion as legal tender.
In Florida, H.B. 999 provides standards by which certain existing gold and silver coins may be regarded as legal tender. It further exempts the transfer of gold and silver from sales tax in the state. Finally, the bill provides businesses and individuals the ability to opt out of accepting gold and silver for payment and mandates that government entities only accept payment in gold or silver via electronic means—not through gold and silver in physical form.
Similarly, Arkansas law exempts from taxation any purchase, sale or exchange of gold or silver. Short on details of how it will work otherwise, the Arkansas legislation largely leaves implementation up to rulemaking by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the state.
In case you missed it, IBAT was able to make the best of a bad situation in the fight against Texas jumping into competition with the United States dollar. IBAT and the Texas Comptroller’s office have maintained that the act is unconstitutional. In an amendment added to the Texas House Bill (H.B. 1056) last week, the implementation of the law would depend on a federal court ruling favorably on the constitutionality of the proposal.
