A proposal to exempt U.S. gold coins from Arizona’s capital-gains taxes got a boost from a GOP favorite. Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday on behalf of House Bill 2014.
"What you're doing here, the way I understand it, is maybe we ought not to tax money," Paul said. "And I think that's a good idea. I'd like to not tax a lot of things, but certainly it makes no sense to tax money."
But, Democratic state Sen. Steve Farley sees it as a tax break for speculators and gold-coin dealers who sell collector coins over their face value.
"I'm trying to wrap my mind around how this isn't just another tax giveaway to coin collectors," Farley said. "I get your point that you don't tax money when exchanged money for money. And I would buy that, if the $20 gold piece from 1850 was going to be traded for a $20 bill."
This is not the first time Republican Rep. Mark Finchem has proposed exempting gold coins. In the past, both Gov. Doug Ducey and former Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed similar measures over concerns of lost state revenue and unintended consequences.