Mississippi Becomes the 43rd State to End Sales Taxes on Gold and Silver

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, UNITED STATES, April 25, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Governor Tate Reeves, has signed into law bill SB2862, making gold and silver coins and bullion tax-free. Mississippi has now become the 43rd state in the country to end sales taxes on the purchase of physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion. The signing ceremony was attended by Mississippi Pawnbrokers Association Board members Jackie Mize, Kevin Macdonald, Nick Fulton, and lobbyist Tom Wallace. During the event, Governor Reeves was gifted a 1999 Silver Eagle by Fulton, President of the board, who remarked, “You now have something that came from a pawnshop.”

With the passing of this law, Mississippi joins a growing list of states that have made gold and silver coins and bullion tax-free.”

— Nick Fulton, President, Mississippi Pawnbrokers Association

The bill was the result of a year-long effort by the MPA Board members, who were approached by Representative Jill Ford for assistance. “What we found is it’s very difficult to get a bill passed,” Fulton said, “there were several bills introduced, and a group in favor of tax-free digital currency had their own language linked on the final bill.”

The Mississippi Pawnbrokers Association and other backers noted that eliminating sales taxes on gold, silver, and other precious metals is good public policy for numerous reasons including:

-Precious metals are not consumer goods. Sales taxes are typically levied on items that are “consumed” by the purchaser. Precious metals are inherently held for resale, not “consumption,” making the application of sales taxes on precious metals inappropriate.

-Taxing gold and silver harms in-state businesses. It’s a competitive marketplace, so buyers would have taken their business to neighboring states, such as Alabama or Louisiana (which have eliminated or reduced sales tax on precious metals), thereby undermining Mississippi jobs.

-Taxing precious metals is unfair to certain savers and investors. Gold and silver are held as forms of savings and investment. Mississippi does not tax the purchase of stocks, bonds, ETFs, currencies, and other financial instruments.

-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, Mississippians on fixed incomes, wage earners, savers, and more.

The new law is being hailed as a significant victory for the pawnbroking industry in Mississippi and is expected to keep money in the state from those who have been avoiding paying sales tax by purchasing out of state. With the passing of this law, Mississippi joins a growing list of states that have made gold and silver coins and bullion tax-free.