美元崩盘的后路：肯塔基州成为第45个取消黄金白银销售税的州

In a high-stakes showdown with Gov. Andy Beshear over a gold and silver sales tax exemption, the Kentucky legislature has deemed his attempted line-item veto as an illegal act -- and directed the Secretary of State to enroll the exemption into law.

在与州长安迪-贝希尔就黄金和白银销售税豁免问题进行的一场高风险对决中，肯塔基州立法机构将其试图行使的单项否决权视为非法行为，并指示州务卿将该豁免纳入法律。
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This action makes the Bluegrass State the 45th state in the nation to enact this sound money policy – and the second this year.

这一行动使蓝草州（肯特基州的别名）成为全美第45个颁布这一稳健货币政策的州，也是今年的第二个州。

Originally introduced by Rep. Steven Doan as a standalone bill, the sales tax exemption on purchases of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins, bars, and rounds enjoyed strong grassroots support -- thanks, in large part, to the hard work of the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and in-state activists.

购买金币、银币、铂币和钯币、金条和银圆免征销售税最初是由众议员史蒂文-杜安作为独立法案提出的，该法案得到了基层民众的大力支持，这在很大程度上要归功于健全货币保护联盟、货币金属交易所和州内活动家的辛勤工作。

Ultimately, Kentucky House and Senate leaders added the popular sound money provision into House Bill 8, an overarching revenue bill that also involved other tax matters, and sent the bill to the governor.

最终，肯塔基州众议院和参议院领导人将广受欢迎的健全货币条款纳入了众议院第8号法案，这是一项涉及其他税收问题的总体收入法案，并将该法案提交给了州长。

However, Beshear, a progressive Democrat, attempted to line-item veto the sales tax exemption on Tuesday. In his veto message, he even went out of his way to smear small-time Kentucky savers (who are desperately trying to protect themselves from Bidenflation) as rich people.

然而，作为进步民主党人，贝希尔周二试图对免征金银销售税进行逐项否决。在否决致辞中，他甚至不遗余力地将肯塔基州的小额储蓄者（他们正拼命保护自己免受拜登通胀的影响）抹黑为富人。

Under the Kentucky constitution, however, governors only have a line item veto power with respect to appropriations (or spending) bills -- and HB 8 was not such a bill.

然而，根据肯塔基州宪法，州长只对拨款（或支出）法案拥有逐项否决权，而众议院第8号法案并非此类。

Moreover, a formal opinion of the state’s Attorney General further affirms that a line-item veto power does not exist for revenue bills, giving further weight to the legislature’s action to deem Beshear’s veto attempt illegal.

此外，该州总检察长的一份正式意见书进一步确认，对于收入法案不存在逐项否决权，这进一步加强了立法机构将贝希尔的否决企图视为非法的行动。

Once it takes effect on August 1, the sales tax exemption covers bullion as well as “coins or currency made of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or other metal or paper money that is, or has been, used as legal tender and is sold based on its value as a collectible item rather than its value as a medium of exchange.”

一旦该法案于8月1日生效，销售税豁免将涵盖金条以及“由金、银、铂、钯或其他金属或纸币制成的硬币或货币，这些硬币或货币现在或曾经被用作法定货币，并且是根据其作为收藏品的价值而不是作为交易媒介的价值出售的”。

Bill sponsor Rep. Doan explained, “Sound money is the bedrock of economic stability, ensuring the preservation of wealth and purchasing power over time. For Kentuckians and businesses in the state, sound money fosters confidence in transactions, encourages savings, and facilitates long-term investment, ultimately driving sustainable economic growth.

法案提案人众议员杜安解释说：“健全的货币是经济稳定的基石，可确保财富和购买力长期保持不变。对于肯塔基州的居民和企业来说，稳健的货币可以增强交易信心，鼓励储蓄，促进长期投资，最终推动可持续的经济增长。”

“As enshrined in the Constitution, sound money protects against the corrosive effects of inflation, safeguarding the financial well-being of individuals, families, and enterprises alike,” he continued.

他继续说：“正如《宪法》所规定的，稳健的货币可以抵御通货膨胀的侵蚀作用，保障个人、家庭和企业的金融福祉。”

“Kentucky lawmakers finally listened to the overwhelming grassroots pressure and common sense and got this done,” said Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League. “Sound money is a winning political issue, the voters want it, and our nation desperately needs it.”

“肯塔基州的立法者们最终听取了绝大多数基层民众的呼吁和常识，完成了这项工作，”健全货币保护联盟执行董事Jp科尔特斯说。“健全货币是一个成功的政治议题，选民需要它，我们的国家也迫切需要它。”

Including Kentucky, eight states in the last three years have enacted laws to reduce or eliminate the sales tax on purchases of precious metals (Wisconsin and Kentucky in 2024, Mississippi in 2023, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia in 2022, and Arkansas and Ohio in 2021).

包括肯塔基州在内，过去三年中已有八个州颁布法律，降低或取消购买贵金属的销售税（威斯康星州和肯塔基州于2024年，密西西比州于2023年，田纳西州、阿拉巴马州和弗吉尼亚州于2022年，阿肯色州和俄亥俄州于2021年）。

Kentucky had been completely surrounded by states that had already ended this controversial tax.

肯塔基州完全被已终止征收这一有争议税种的州所包围。

Ending the sales tax on purchases of gold and silver is good policy for several reasons:

出于以下几个原因，取消购买黄金和白银的销售税是一项好政策：

1. Other types of savings or investments do not carry a sales tax.

1、其他类型的储蓄或投资已经不再被征收销售税。
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Gold and silver are held as forms of savings and investment. Kentucky already does not assess a sales tax on the purchase of stocks, bonds, ETFs, real estate, currencies, and other financial instruments.

黄金和白银作为储蓄和投资的一种形式。肯塔基州已经不对购买股票、债券、ETF、房地产、货币和其他金融工具征收销售税。

2. Levying sales taxes on precious metals makes no sense because they held for resale.

2、对贵金属征收销售税毫无意义，因为贵金属是用于流通的。

Sales taxes are typically levied on final consumer goods. Computers, shirts, and shoes carry sales taxes because the consumer is “consuming” the good. Precious metals are inherently held for resale, not “consumption,” making the imposition of sales taxes on precious metals illogical from the start.

销售税通常是针对最终消费品征收的。电脑、衬衫和鞋子征收销售税是因为消费者在“消费”商品。贵金属本质上是用于流通，而不是“消费”，因此对贵金属征收销售税从一开始就不合逻辑。

3. Studies have shown that taxing precious metals is an inefficient form of revenue collection.

3、研究表明，对贵金属征税是一种低效的税收方式。

The results of a Michigan study, for example, demonstrated that any sales tax proceeds a state collects on precious metals may be surpassed by the state revenue lost from conventions, businesses, and economic activity that are driven out of the state.

例如，密歇根州的一项研究结果表明，该州对贵金属征收的任何销售税收益都可能被会议、企业和经济活动被赶出该州而损失的州收入所超过。

4. Taxing gold and silver harms in-state businesses.

4、对黄金和白银征税会损害州内企业。

It’s a competitive marketplace, so buyers will take their business to neighboring states, thereby undermining jobs. By going elsewhere, investors can easily avoid paying $132 in sales taxes, for example, on a $2,200 purchase of a one-ounce gold bar.

这是一个竞争激烈的市场，因此买家会将业务转移到邻州，从而影响就业。以购买一块一盎司的金条为例，如果投资者去其他地方购买，就可以轻松规避2200美元的销售税。

5. Gold and silver are the only money mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

5、金银是美国宪法中唯一提到的货币。

Article 1, Section 10 states that “no state shall make any Thing but Gold and Silver a tender in payment of debts.” Exchanging one form of U.S. money for another should not be a taxable event.

《宪法》第1条第10款的规定：“除金银外，任何州不得将其他任何物品作为偿债货币”。用一种形式的美国货币换取另一种形式的美国货币不应被征税。

6. Taxing precious metals is harmful to small-time savers.

6、对贵金属征税不利于小额储蓄者。
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Purchasers of precious metals aren’t generally fat-cat investors. Most who buy precious metals do so in small increments as a way of saving money. Inflation harms everyone, but especially pensioners, wage earners, savers, and small business folks.

购买贵金属的人一般都不是富豪投资者。大多数购买贵金属的人都是小额储蓄者。通货膨胀对每个人都不利，尤其是养老金领取者、工薪阶层、储蓄者和小商人。

“We’re nowhere near done. Politicians in the remaining ‘hold-out states’ – New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, Hawaii, and New Mexico – should expect to hear from sound money activists and constituents very soon,” added Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals and Chairman of the Sound Money Defense League.

“我们的工作还远远没有结束。”货币金属交易公司首席执行官兼健全货币保护联盟主席斯特凡-格里森补充说：“剩下的‘拒之门外的州’--新泽西州、缅因州、佛蒙特州、夏威夷州和新墨西哥州--的政治家们应该很快就会听到健全货币活动家和选民们的声音。”

It’s still possible that New Jersey could become the third state to end sales taxes on precious metals this year. Such a bill has already passed through the New Jersey Senate.

新泽西州仍有可能成为今年第三个取消贵金属销售税的州。新泽西州参议院已经通过了这样一项法案。

More than two dozen other states have considered pro-sound money legislation in 2024 so far, including Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

到目前为止，还有二十多个州考虑在2024年支持健全货币立法，包括阿拉斯加州、印第安纳州、爱荷华州、佐治亚州、堪萨斯州、密苏里州、爱达荷州、亚利桑那州、犹他州、新罕布什尔州、俄克拉荷马州、内布拉斯加州、堪萨斯州、佛蒙特州、西弗吉尼亚州和威斯康星州。

Kentucky was tied for 45th out of 50 in the 2024 Sound Money Index. Enactment of this measure is expected to boost the state’s ranking dramatically.

肯塔基州在2024年健全货币指数的50个国家中并列第45位。这项措施的颁布有望大幅提升肯塔基州的排名。

As of this writing, it’s unclear whether Governor Beshear will file suit against the legislature for refusing to accept his line-item veto as valid.

截至本文撰写之时，尚不清楚州长贝希尔是否会对议会拒绝接受其有效的单项否决提起诉讼。