Sales Tax

This is an alert and a call for help to Georgia collectors and investors in coins, currency and bullion.

Today, numismatists and investors buying coins, currency and bullion in the state of Georgia do not pay sales tax. With the current economic situation, our state legislature is looking to change tax laws. To keep people interested in collecting and investing in numismatics and precious metals, it’s important the tax exemption remains in place.

The current exemption became effective July 1, 2000. You can read the House Bill at this link: HB1210. The exemptions were introduced in the House in January, passed in the House on March 1 and the Senate on March 15, sent to the governor on March 24 and signed by him on April 20.

The Georgia Sales and Use Tax Exemptions dated March 30, 2010 shows #66 as “Sales of gold, silver, or platinum bullion” and #67 as “Sales of coins or currency.”

Last year, the state of Washington’s legislature began looking at adding the sales tax back on coins and bullion after being exempt for 25 years. This article, Taxing Investment Coin and Bullion Industry Will Increase Unemploymetn; Reduce Revenues, gives a summary of several dealers’ comments in testimony in front of Washington’s House Finance Committee.

Several dealers are working to get a lobbyist to present similar points to our Georgia legislators. Please help by letting your state representative know that re-instating the taxes on coins will drive business and businesses out of the state. In other words, adding the tax will negatively impact the collectors and investors along with the dealers, and it will not increase revenue to the state’s sales tax coffers.

If you are unsure who your state representative is, you can search for your elected officials on this VoteSmart page. You can also utilize the Georgia legislative web site.

We will post more on this topic, but your help is needed.

Thank you.