May 2, 2022 | ICTA/NCBA, News
Tennessee has gained a complete sales-tax exemption on the retail sales of coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion. On April 27, 2022, the Tennessee House substituted Senate Bill 1857: Exempts certain sales of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion from the sales and use tax, for House Bill 1874, and passed Senate Bill 1857. The Senate concurred on April 28, 2022. The exemption will take effect upon receiving the governor’s signature or 10 days after it reached the governor’s desk if he takes no action.
“Over the last seven years, Representative Bud Hulsey and Senator Frank Nicely have shown unrelenting perseverance in an effort to get this measure passed,” said NCBA executive director David Crenshaw. “The dedication of Representative Hulsey and Senator Nicely in sponsoring and championing their bills through multiple Assembly sessions has never wavered, and dealers Col. Steven Ellsworth (ret.), David Hall, and Bruce Paulhamus gave their efforts a much-needed shot in the arm in 2019, when they formed the Tennessee Precious Metals, Coin & Currency Coalition and hired Bass, Berry & Sims to lobby for us. Ellsworth’s determination, especially, rallied the state’s dealers and collectors to help push this exemption through.”
Last year Representative Ron Gant and Senator John Stevens introduced companion bills to exempt certain sales of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion from the sales and use tax. House Bill 514 and Senate Bill 870 were introduced on February 4, 2021, and February 11, 2021, respectively. The Tennessee Precious Metals, Coin & Currency Coalition hired a lobbyist team from Bass, Berry & Sims to monitor the progress of each bill as they moved through the state’s legislative process. The House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee placed HB 514 behind the budget, and the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee referred SB 870 with a negative recommendation. Unfortunately, as with the Hawaii legislature early in 2021, a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 halted any further action to include the bill in the budget. The legislature adjourned sine die, not to reconvene until January 2022.
In the summer of 2021 the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations studied the feasibility of a gold depository in Tennessee. Although the study found that there was not enough demand for such a depository to be viable, the report did suggest that the General Assembly should “consider a sales-tax exemption for precious metal coins and bullion if it becomes clear that the exemption will not violate the American Rescue Plan Act.” November saw U.S. District judge L. Scott Coogler of the Northern District of Alabama issue an injunction in favor of a lawsuit brought forward by 13 states, alleging that the provision in the American Rescue Plan Act that limited state tax cuts was unconstitutional. This court injunction halted enforcement of that provision in the act limiting state tax cuts and opened the way for new bills to move through the assembly during the 2022 session to create an exemption for coins and bullion.
In 2022 Representative Bud Hulsey agreed to sponsor and champion House Bill 1874: As introduced, exempts certain sales of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion from the sales and use tax. Its companion bill was Senate Bill 1857, sponsored by Senator Frank Nicely. SB 1857 was referred to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee with a negative recommendation from the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Revenue Subcommittee on March 1, 2022, and placed on the calendar to be heard April 19, 2022, although its companion bill, HB 1874, was placed behind the budget in the House. Neither of these bills appeared to be moving and would most likely not be considered further during the 2022 session.
As the coalition and NCBA continued investigating other options to create an exemption this year, SB 1857 was placed on the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for April 26, 2022. This committee recommended the bill for passage, and the next day the Senate passed the bill, 25 to 5. The bill was then sent to the House where it was substituted for its companion HB 1874. A very minor language change to the bill was adopted, which revised the criterion to refer to sales based “primarily” on intrinsic value as precious material or collectible items. The House passed the bill unanimously.
“It has been a long road to get Tennessee a coin, currency, and bullion sales-tax exemption. The way the dealers and collectors of our state have stepped up to contact their legislators has made a huge difference,” said Col. Ellsworth. “We are so glad the way opened to get our exemption passed this year. We are thankful for the efforts of Representative Hulsey and Senator Nicely, our legal team at Bass, Berry & Sims, and the National Coin & Bullion Association’s executive director, David Crenshaw, and board member Pat Heller in reaching our goal.”
Tennessee now joins 40 other states that have complete or partial sales-tax exemptions on the retail sales of coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion. Of those states, five (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon) have no state sales tax at all, while the other 35 states had enacted legislation and adopted regulations to exempt such merchandise. That leaves only nine states and the District of Columbia that still charge sales taxes on the retail sales of coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion.
Apr 15, 2022 | ICTA/NCBA, News
In the summer of 2016, Phil Darby (J & P Coins and Currency) and Steve Caiola (Alabama Gold Refinery) started collaborating with the National Coin & Bullion Association on a campaign to obtain a statewide coin, currency, and precious-metals bullion sales-tax exemption. Darby and Caiola hired Graham Champion (Public Strategies, Montgomery, AL) as the campaign’s lobbyist.
Alabama joined the other states with a sales-tax exemption on June 1, 2018. However, the statute had a five-year sunset provision to provide the state’s fiscal agency the opportunity to verify the projected benefits to the state’s revenue promoted by the campaign.
With the deadline on the sunset provision in sight, the coalition prepared to resume the fight. On February 10, 2021, Senator Tim Melson introduced Senate Bill 218: Taxation, Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for Bullion, Bullion Defined Further, Sales and Use Tax Exemption Extended, Reporting Requirements Waived for Certain Recipients of Tax Exemption. This bill would extend the sunset provision for five more years and change the definition of bullion’s purity from 90% to 80%.
Alabama is eligible to host a national coin show, but opportunities to do so had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Extending the exemption five more years would give show producers more time to bring a show to the state. Reducing the definition of bullion to 80% purity also makes sense, because some very early US silver coins had purity as low as 89.24% and some early US gold coins had a purity of 89.92%. Many European silver coins had purities as low as 83.5%. Changing the definition from 90% to 80% avoids potential technical glitches.
Darby again engaged Champion as a lobbyist. The bill was heard by the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee on March 11, 2021, and they unanimously passed the bill to the Senate with a favorable recommendation. After it passed the Senate, it was referred to the House Ways and Means Education Committee. Unfortunately, the legislative session adjourned sine die before there was any further action on the bill, and the bill died in the House.
On January 11, 2022, Senator Melson again introduced and championed Senate Bill 13, which amends the definition of bullion (as in the previous bill), extends the expiration date for the sales- and use-tax exemption another five years, and repeals reporting requirements for dealers. SB 13 was unanimously passed out of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee on February 23, 2022, and transferred to the House, where it was read for the first time and referred to the House Ways and Means Education Committee. On March 17, the bill was read for the second time and placed on the calendar. The House Ways and Means Education Committee reported the bill favorably, and its third reading occurred on April 6, 2022, when unanimously passed. The bill was delivered to Governor Kay Ivey the following day and was signed into law on April 14, 2022. The bill is effective immediately, with a new expiration date of June 1, 2028.
“This has been a long fight. We are so grateful for the encouragement of NCBA and for Senator Melson’s advocacy of the exemption these last two sessions,” Darby said. “We know the numismatic community in Alabama will have a chance to grow in the coming years and that Alabama’s economy will be the better for it.”
Apr 12, 2022 | ICTA/NCBA, News
On March 2, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin signed House Bill 3, which extends the sunset date for the sales-tax exemption on gold, silver, and platinum bullion and legal tender coins to June 30, 2025. Under the previous law, the exemption would have expired on June 30, 2022.
In the summer of 2014 John Brush (David Lawrence Rare Coins), with a coalition of coin-business owners, a lobbyist, and NCBA started developing legislation to exempt coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion from Virginia’s sales and use taxes. The legislation provided an exemption that included gold, silver, and platinum purchases whose totals exceeded $1,000. On March 26, 2015, Governor McAuliffe signed the legislation, and the law went into effect on July 1, 2015. However, a sunset provision was also added to the law, so that the original sales tax would be reinstated if new legislation were not passed before the end of the 2018 legislative session.
Efforts continued to eliminate the $1,000 threshold, expand the statute to include coins and currency of numismatic value, and remove the sunset provision. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2018 that expanded Virginia’s sales- and use-tax exemption to include legal-tender coins and extended the exemption until June 30, 2022. The law would have sunset this year unless the industry could demonstrate that Virginia dealers and coin shows were growing again.
On November 29, 2021, House Bill 3: Gold, silver, and platinum bullion, etc.; removes sunset date for the sales tax exemption was introduced by delegate R. Lee Ware and referred to the House Finance Committee. The bill was reported favorably out of committee with amendment on January 19, 2022, and passed the House (Ayes 87; Nays 12) on January 25, 2022. The bill was referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, where it was unanimously reported favorably with amendment. The Senate unanimously passed the bill with amendment on February 17, 2022. The House agreed to adopt the Senate amendment to change the statue’s “effective through” year from 2027 to 2025, extending the sunset provision another three years. Governor Youngkin has signed the bill, which goes into effect on July 1, 2022.
A similar bill, HB 936, had also been introduced, which included eliminating the limitation that only purchases of more than $1,000 were eligible for the exemption. Ultimately the two bills ended up in a conference committee composed of House and Senate conferees to reconcile differences in the bills that has passed both chambers. Both chambers agreed to the conference report, and HB 936ER passed the House and Senate. Now legal-tender coins, gold, silver, and platinum purchases no longer need to exceed $1,000 to be exempt. Governor Youngkin signed the bill on April 11, 2022, and it goes into effect on July 1, 2022.
“The political scene was not a world that I ever expected to enter,” said Brush. “But the opportunity to work with other business owners in Virginia and throughout the country to help collectors in my adopted state was one that I could not turn down. As a Tennessean by blood, I heard the call to volunteer, and with the assistance of lobbyist Phil Abraham, we were able to achieve something that we didn’t think was possible, something that will benefit other dealers and collectors for years to come. It was truly an honor to be involved in the legislative process, and I’m really proud to see that common sense, elbow grease, and feet on the ground can really accomplish change in the world of politics. We hope that these efforts will allow the coin hobby and businesses to continue to grow in the Old Dominion.”
Jan 26, 2022 | ICTA/NCBA, News
The National Coin & Bullion Association dealer-members Dan Hedges (Auro Industries, Little Rock, Arkansas) and David Miholer (The Executive Coin Company, Stow, Ohio) have received the association’s 2021 Diane Piret Memorial Outstanding Service Award for their continuous dedication and financial contributions to obtaining a sales-tax exemption on sales of collector coins, bullion coins, bullion, and currency in the state of Arkansas and reinstating Ohio’s exemption for precious-metal and investment coins and bullion, respectively.
In the spring of 2018, Paul Mason (Mason’s Coin and Pawn, Hot Springs, Arkansas) contacted NCBA for assistance with an initiative to establish a sales-tax exemption for coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion. A coalition of Arkansas dealers was formed, headed by Mason and Tom Poole (Northeast Arkansas Coin Company, Jonesboro, Arkansas) with the help of Hedges. They hired a lobbyist and oversaw the creation of a bill, which was sponsored by Senator Mark Johnson in 2019. The bill did not get enough favorable votes to pass out of the committee before the general assembly’s sine die adjournment that April.
-
-
Dan Hedges of Auro Industries, Little Rock, Arkansas
-
-
David Miholer or The Executive Coin Company, Stow, Ohio
Despite the setback, Hedges persisted, picking up the gauntlet to lead the effort without a lobbyist when the legislature reconvened in 2021. Senator Johnson introduced SB 336 to create an exemption from the sales and use tax for coins, currency, and bullion. This time the bill successfully moved from the Senate Revenue & Tax Committee through the legislative process in both chambers and was delivered to Governor Hutchinson on April 27, 2021.
“We thank Dan Hedges for his perseverance, and the tremendous support of everyone who helped him in this campaign,” said NCBA executive director, David Crenshaw.
“The NCBA partnership, our team, and many others were invaluable to the success of our efforts,” said Hedges.
In July of 2019, the Ohio Legislature eliminated the sales-tax exemption on the purchases of investment metal bullion and coins from their budget. Though the Ohio dealer community rallied, urging Governor DeWine to line-item veto this language and protect the exemption, no action was taken before he signed the bill into law.
The COVID-19 pandemic shut down many opportunities to change the law during 2020, but Miholer put together a coalition of Ohio coin-business owners to restore the lost exemption. He found sponsors in the legislature and helped push through amendments to include a sales-tax exemption for precious-metals coins and bullion in the state budget for FY 2022–2023. Collectible coins made of copper and nickel and paper currency are not exempt, though collectible coins made primarily of gold and silver (such as dimes, quarters, and dollars minted before 1965 and any higher-value gold coins) and any bullion coins made of platinum or palladium qualify.
The Ohio Senate and House passed HB 110 on June 28, 2021, and shortly after midnight July 1, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law.
“This exemption is vital to the growth of our businesses in the state of Ohio. Thank you to everyone who made our work these past two years a success, especially Rachel Tilves, Brad Karoleff, Andrew Reames, and Pat Heller,” said Miholer.
“Dave Miholer never let up in the push to regain his state’s sales tax exemption. He understood how important the exemption was to his business and every other Ohio dealer, to Ohio residents, and even to the state government,” said Pat Heller, NCBA board member and sales tax exemption expert.
The Diane Piret Memorial Outstanding Service Award is normally presented at the NCBA membership dinner and update during the Florida United Numismatist Convention. However, the NCBA event was cancelled due to issues with the current COVID-19 omicron variant surge. The award commemorates the 25-year career of NCBA’s former industry affairs director, who died in 2015.
Jan 12, 2022 | Announcements, ICTA/NCBA
The National Coin & Bullion Association is replacing our Consumer Patron-level membership with a new, FREE membership dedicated to collectors. The Concerned Collectors Coalition is specifically for individuals whose primary source of income is not generated by the sale of numismatic materials. Concerned Collectors Coalition members receive a membership certificate and the association’s quarterly digital newsletter, Member News. A member of the Concerned Collectors Coalition does not have membership voting rights.
To support NCBA’s work advocating for the numismatic community, Concerned Collectors Coalition members will need to identify their federal and state legislators as part of the registration process. One of the first steps in convincing federal and state legislators to support our initiatives is finding out who represents our members. This allows NCBA and our lobbyists to focus efforts on legislators whose constituents will be directly impacted by the initiatives so that we can contact them about supporting our efforts when the time comes. It will also allow our lobbyists to create a clear picture of where these key legislators stand on issues related to our initiatives and which committees they serve on before we reach out to them.
Our Concerned Collectors Coalition members will be an important voice in the fight for our initiatives and will be called upon to help support our work in the state and federal legislatures. If you appreciate having access to a fair market for coins and bullion, you benefit from the work we do. The membership is free, but donations are vital to our efforts. You can still contribute $25, $50, $100—or more—to support our initiatives and help shape the future of our numismatic community. To contribute, visit https://www.ictaonline.org/donate.
Current Consumer Patron members have been automatically registered as Concerned Collectors Coalition members. Each member’s profile should be updated to include the names of their federal and state legislators. Profiles may be updated at any time via the NCBA website’s “Member Login” button. If you do not know your password, there is a link on the log-in screen to retrieve it. To find your legislators, visit https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/.
Help us make this coalition a powerful voice for the numismatic community! Collectors, join NCBA as a Concerned Collectors Coalition member for FREE and join the fight in our initiatives. Again, if you appreciate having access to a fair market for coins and bullion, you benefit from the work we do. And please contribute $25, $50, $100, or more, to support our initiatives and help shape the future of our numismatic community.
To join Concerned Collectors Coalition, visit https://icta.memberclicks.net/membership.
To contribute, visit https://www.ictaonline.org/donate.
Oct 25, 2021 | ICTA/NCBA, News
In light of the Supreme Court’s South Dakota v. Wayfair decision, what would it mean for your business to be free of the burden of collecting sales tax on the coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion you sell?
Even if your business is not located in one of the states below, if any of your customers—be they wholesale or retail—are located in any of these states, you may be required to collect and file state taxes on their behalf.
The National Coin & Bullion Association, in conjunction with coalitions of coin and bullion dealers from each state, is seeking to protect coin- and bullion-based businesses from government overreach by supporting sales-tax exemptions in every state across the country. Our current battles are at critical junctures, and we need your help!
The average cost for a campaign lobbyist in each state is $30,000. Expenses for expert witnesses and NCBA staff typically amount to another $5,000.
Your contribution of $300, $500, or even $1,000—today—is essential to our success. Many have already given time and money—and even pledged additional amounts for these campaigns—and we are so grateful to them. But these laws affect more than just the business owners living in the states below. If you do business with anyone in these states, we want and need your help.
We know how to approach these campaigns. We have marshaled our arguments, and we have the expertise to frame them properly to legislators. We have already obtained backing from legislators who will sponsor bills. However, we must have the financial resources necessary to make it happen.
The benefits to you and your business will be significant. Do not put this off. This will be the most important investment in your business you will make this year. You will be proud to say, “I helped!” instead of “I wish I had.”
Alabama: Seeking to remove the sunset provision that expires on June 1, 2023. For more information or to contribute toward lobbyist fees and other campaign expenses, please contact Phil Darby at (256) 335-2352 or via email at phil.darby@comcast.net.
Kentucky: Seeking to create a new exemption. To contribute toward lobbyist fees and other campaign expenses, please make your check payable to Bluegrass Coin Club and mail the check to C/O Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, 1707 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY 40503. Write on the check “Kentucky Campaign.” For more information, please contact Jeff Garrett (Mid-American Coin Galleries, Lexington) at (859) 276-1551 or via email at coinman4u@aol.com; Johnathan Kern (Johnathan Kern Coins, Lexington) at (859) 269-1614 or email jkerncoins@aol.com; or Byrd Saylor (Louisville Numismatic Exchange, Louisville) at (502) 584-9879 or email bsaylor@louisvillenumismatic.com.
New Jersey: Seeking to create a new exemption. To kick off fundraising for the lobbyist fees and other campaign expenses, member Richard Cohen (National Watch & Coin) will match other contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000. To contribute, please make your check payable to NCBA, P.O. Box 237, Dacula, GA 30019. Write on the check “New Jersey Campaign.” For more information, please contact NCBA at (678) 430-3252 or via email at icta@ictaonline.org.
Tennessee: Seeking to create a new exemption. To contribute toward lobbyist fees and other campaign expenses, please make your check payable to Tennessee Precious Metals, Coin & Currency Coalition, P.O. Box 2869, Brentwood, TN 37024. For more information, please contact Col. Steven Ellsworth (Butternut, Brentwood) at (703) 932-6331 or via email at butternut@butternut.org; David Hall (Hallmark Rare Coins, Kodak) at (865) 643-8435 or email david@hallmarkrarecoins.com; or Bruce Paulhamus (Southern Precious Metals Exchange, Chattanooga) at (423) 825-4653 or email southernpmx@gmail.com.
Virginia: Seeking to remove the sunset provision that expires on July 1, 2022. To kick off fundraising for the initiative, John Brush (David Lawrence Rare Coins) will match other contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000. To contribute toward lobbyist fees and other campaign expenses, please make your check payable to DLRC, P.O. Box 9174, Virginia Beach, VA 23450. Write on the check “Virginia Campaign.” For more information, please contact John Brush at (757) 491-1060 or via email at john@davidlawrence.com.
About NCBA
The National Coin & Bullion Association, the new trade name for the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, is a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt trade association dedicated to the coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion communities for over 38 years. NCBA exists to promote and safeguard the interests of its members, serving as the industry watchdog to maintain a favorable legislative and regulatory climate in the United States federal government and individual state governments. For more information, visit nationalcoinbullionassoc.org or email icta@ictaonline.org.
Jul 8, 2021 | ICTA/NCBA, News
The Ohio 2022–2023 budget reinstates the sales-tax exemption for the purchases of investment metal bullion and investment coins that was eliminated in the previous budget. Two bills, House Bill 268 and House Bill 110, had the possibility of reinstating the exemption, with the budget bill, HB110, succeeding.
The Ohio Senate Finance Committee and Ohio House Ways and Means Committee met May 18, 2021, to discuss HB268: Exempt sale of investment metal bullion and coins from sales tax. NCBA submitted written testimony in support of the bill to both committees. NCBA board member and sales-tax exemption expert, Pat Heller (Liberty Coin Service), testified in-person at the Finance Committee meeting, as did several local coin-business owners. The Ways and Means Committee voted 11 to 6 in favor of the bill’s passage, and it was returned to the House but set aside in the interest of passing the budget bill.
The state’s budget (HB 110: Creates appropriations for FY 2022–2023) passed both the House and the Senate. On June 15, the Senate insisted on amendments and asked for a committee of conference. The Senate’s version of the bill would use the following language to amend Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.02: Levy of sales tax, purpose, rate, exemptions:
(57) Sales of investment metal bullion and investment coins. “Investment metal bullion” means any bullion described in section 408(m)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, regardless of whether that bullion is in the physical possession of a trustee. “Investment coin” means any coin composed primarily of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium.
Based on this language, the exemption is specifically for bullion coins and bullion—gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Collectible coins made of copper and nickel and paper currency are not exempt, though collectible coins made primarily of gold and silver (such as dimes, quarters, and dollars minted before 1965 and any higher-value gold coins) would qualify.
The Ohio Senate and House agreed to the conference committee’s report, passing HB 110 on June 28, 2021. Shortly after midnight July 1, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law. DeWine did use the line-item veto on 14 items, but fortunately the exemption was not one of them.
“Ohio now rejoins the 39 other states with a sales-tax exemption,” said NCBA executive director David Crenshaw. “The dealer and collector communities, in conjunction with NCBA, put a tremendous amount of hard work into the grassroots campaign. We especially want thank Dave Miholer (The Executive Coin Company), Bradley Karoleff (Coins Plus), and Andrew Reames (Crossroads Coins) for their continued local help to reinstate this exemption.”
The exemption’s effective date is October 1, 2021.
Jun 21, 2021 | Announcements, ICTA/NCBA
The National Coin & Bullion Association is fighting to preserve sales-tax exemptions on coins, paper money, and precious-metals bullion in 39 states, and we are also working to gain such an exemption in the 11 states that do not currently have one.
We are currently seeking 400 coin and precious-metals dealers to take a survey, providing 2020 sales and sales tax collections and 2019 coin show booths/tables data that will allow us to make our case for these exemptions. With this data, our prospects for keeping exemptions and gaining new ones will increase dramatically.
Typically when a state considers enacting a new exemption or possibly revoking an existing exemption,
- The state’s legislative fiscal office (called different things in different states) begins by estimating the amount of “lost revenue” arising from a sales-tax exemption. This estimate is often ridiculously high. For example, when Virginia was first considering an exemption in 2017, it estimated it would lose up to $14.5 million dollars each year.
- When NCBA and other organizations seek to set the record straight, we are told that in the absence of hard data, the legislature will assume its own estimates are correct. These inflated estimates then become part of the legislative history and are treated as facts.
To help us combat this misinformation created by the state fiscal offices, we need 400 coin and precious-metals dealers to arm us with data that will demonstrate to state lawmakers that our estimates of numismatic state sales-tax revenue are more accurate than their estimates. All survey responses are anonymous. Optional contact information—should you choose to provide any—will be kept strictly confidential. The survey will take only 10–15 minutes of your time, could potentially save the coin and precious-metals communities tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly help expand your own business.
Five years ago we did a similar survey as a direct response to a concern from the state of Tennessee, where its fiscal agency had challenged the data that we had put before them. Without that survey’s data, Tennessee (and most other states we’ve worked in since then) would have almost certainly fallen back on its own estimates, which we know to be inflated. Instead, its projected decline in estimated state and local sales-tax collections were dramatically reduced. This current survey can provide data that will help affect legislation across the nation.
Please support NCBA and our industry in our efforts to achieve sales-tax exemptions on coins, paper money, and precious-metals bullion nationwide by taking 10–15 minutes to complete our survey. The survey can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3zMECoe and will be available through July 14, 2021.
Jun 10, 2021 | ICTA/NCBA, News
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 became law on January 1, 2021, and Congress is currently developing many specific regulations related to the act. Several components of the new law that are still to be finalized will directly impact the numismatic and bullion industry, including:
- Raising the minimum threshold for reporting “Currency in excess of $10,000 received in a trade or business,” (Form 8300) from $10,000 to a higher amount.
- Raising the threshold for needing an Anti-Money Laundering program in place from $50,000 (both buying $50,000 and selling $50,000 of “Cover Goods” during a year) to a higher amount.
- Clarifying the reporting requirements for and minimizing the impact of the Corporate Transparency Act on your business. This is the most complex component of the new AML Act.
- Finally, ancient coins dealers should be concerned about the definition of an “antiquity” and what reporting thresholds should apply. The Global Heritage Alliance, a group that advocates for stakeholders in the antiquities industry, is taking the lead on the Antiquities component of the new AML Act of 2020.
NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION
NCBA has created sample letters for you to send to Congress that point out the burdens placed on small business owners they can address as these regulations are decided. The window of opportunity to help shape the final regulations will close soon, so please use the provided letters to contact your representative and senators TODAY.
To find your US representative, visit https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
To download the sample letter to your representative, visit https://bit.ly/2T8KyHg.
To find your US senators, visit https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm.
To download the sample letter to your senators, visit https://bit.ly/3wa5NHa.
For further information, read The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 at https://bit.ly/2Sbq0xL.
May 3, 2021 | ICTA/NCBA
On May 3, 2021, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law Senate Bill 336, creating an exemption from the sales and use tax for coins, currency, and bullion. “The bill’s primary sponsor, Senator Mark Johnson, along with its House sponsor, Representative Delia Haak, championed the bill through the legislature,” said Dan Hedges (Auro Industries, Little Rock, Arkansas). “Arkansas dealers, collectors, and investors cannot thank them enough for their dedication.”
In the spring of 2018, Paul Mason (Mason’s Coin and Pawn, Hot Springs, Arkansas) contacted NCBA to assist him with an initiative to establish a sales-tax exemption for coins, currency, and precious-metals bullion. A coalition of Arkansas dealers including the Arkansas Numismatic Society was formed, headed by Mason and Tom Poole (Northeast Arkansas Coin Company, Jonesboro, Arkansas) with the help of Hedges. They hired a lobbyist and oversaw the creation of a bill. The lobbyist, Len Pitcock of The Perimeter Group in Little Rock, Arkansas, secured Senator Johnson to sponsor and introduce this bill in 2019. The Senate Revenue & Tax Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 389, but the bill did not get enough favorable votes to pass out of the committee before the general assembly’s sine die adjournment on April 24, 2019.
Despite the setback, Hedges persevered, picking up the gauntlet to lead the effort without a lobbyist when the legislature reconvened in 2021. Senator Johnson introduced SB 336 to create an exemption from the sales and use tax for coins, currency, and bullion. NCBA executive director David Crenshaw submitted written testimony in support of the bill, and NCBA’s board member and sales-tax exemption expert, Pat Heller (Liberty Coin Service, Lansing, Michigan), testified in person alongside other local dealers at the Senate Revenue & Tax Committee meeting on March 10, 2021. From there, the bill successfully moved through the legislative process in both chambers and was delivered to Governor Asa Hutchinson on April 27, 2021.
“[There were] lots of behind-the-scenes discussions,” said Senator Johnson. “Let us just say that the commonsense arguments [the coalition and National Coin & Bullion Association] made were finally heard.”
“[This bill’s passage is a] huge step forward to building economic opportunity in Arkansas,” said Representative Haak. “Thank you to NCBA for all their resources and work on this bill.”
“Arkansas now joins the 38 other states with a sales-tax exemption,” said executive director Crenshaw. “The dealer and collector communities, in conjunction with NCBA, put a tremendous amount of hard work into the grassroots campaign. We especially thank Dan Hedges for his continued perseverance to help make this exemption a reality.”
The new law’s effective date is October 1, 2021.
