Would paying taxes in gold or silver become a reality in America? Well, with a new financial era dawning upon us, it seems as if one state will be open to receiving resident’s taxes in the digital form of gold or silver. Should this be signed into law by Governor Mike Kehoe, then his state would officially approve this new payment option this year.
This state would become one of the first to approve this measure that recognizes precious metals as a legal tender. Thus far, skeptics remain critical about whether paying taxes in gold or silver would be a practical option or not.
Various implementation challenges and concerns
While it all sounds well and good, the bill’s implementation process isn’t exactly straightforward. For this state, their Department of Revenue along with various state agencies would have to create the infrastructure needed to allow for electronic silver and gold payments. The state seems to understand the requirements fully well and set an implementation timeline for this transformation to August 2025. The timeline established by the state is cutting it rather close considering the magnitude of this financial transformation.
It was Democratic Representative, Kemp Strickler, who shared some insight into this matter. Strickler said, “Assuming it gets signed, we’re in the ‘how do we implement’ stage.” Strickler, like many others, seem to be in doubt about whether the implementation process will happen after the law is signed in.
Many citizens have even been cracking jokes as to whether it is practically possible to purchase anything using gold. The state’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry were against proposed versions of the bill that indicated businesses would need to start accepting precious metals. The reason for the objection is due to regulatory burdens that ought to be in place during a trade exchange of these metals. Amendments to proposed bill has completely eased off and no longer burdens private businesses. According to new law, businesses can voluntarily choose to accept gold or silver in exchange for goods.
A currency epoch in this state
In Missouri, a legislation titled the “Constitutional Money Act,” got introduced by Representative Bill Hardwick and was supported by the Missouri Freedom Caucus. The purpose of this Constitutional Money Act is to acknowledge electronic specie currency, mainly in the form of silver and gold, as an acceptable currency during state exchanges.
This act will make it possible for Missouri residents to pay their taxes using silver or gold. While businesses are encouraged to voluntarily accept silver or gold, the law does not make it necessary for such metals to be used in daily commerce.
According to the law’s representative, Hardwick, the aim of this law is to restore both political and economic freedom to Missourians who face concerns of inflation as well as a poor federal monetary policy.
Utah pushes gold movement alongside Missouri
While it does seem as if Missouri is the only state advocating for the use of alternate currencies, Utah’s 2011 law also recognized silver and gold as legal tender earlier in the year. Utah’s bill advocated for a precious metals-backed electronic payment platform. While this legislation was fully embraced by the state legislature, the law got vetoed by Governor Spencer Cox.
Missouri isn’t alone as the state of Florida’s bill also shows interest in accepting gold and silver, yet this proposed bill has not yet been accepted.
The way forward in Missouri
The Constitutional Money Act in the Missouri Senate depends entirely on Governor Kehoe. While Governor Kehoe’s office has mentioned that the bill is currently under review, no indication of what the decision might be have been provided.
Should this bill be signed, it would be left to be seen how many Missourians really do use silver and gold to pay their taxes. Yet Missouri’s acceptance could indicate a new way of thinking of money and could possibly lead to wealthier citizens in Missouri.
