You are here
Washington state coin and bullion shops prepare to be driven out by taxes
By Victor Whitman
Seattle Times
Friday, September 14, 2025
A year ago, Kerry Rogers, a Seattle-area leasing agent, didn't know much about gold and silver. But that's changed.
Worried about the economy, inflation and the weak dollar, she recently started buying bullion.
"If the economy crashes or something, you have something to stand on," she said while shopping at Geoff Minor's The Metal Shop Gold & Silver in Redmond late last month. "It's kind of a good foundation, especially since the dollar seems to not be worth anything."
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
Buy, Sell, or Store Precious Metals with Money Metals Exchange
Money Metals Exchange, a national bullion dealer recently named "Best Overall" by Investopedia.com --
https://www.moneymetals.com/
-- is a great low-cost source for precious metals coins, rounds, and bars. Money Metals also pays handsomely when you wish to sell your precious metals.
Shop online with Money Metals Exchange here --
https://www.moneymetals.com/buy
-- or by calling 1-800-800-1865.
Meanwhile, Money Metals Depository will store your precious metals in a segregated account at low cost:
https://www.moneymetals.com/depository
"If the economy crashes or something, you have something to stand on," she said while shopping at Geoff Minor's The Metal Shop Gold & Silver in Redmond late last month. "It's kind of a good foundation, especially since the dollar seems to not be worth anything."
Rogers was not alone at Minor's store. A steady flow of customers buying and selling gold bars and silver coins were buzzed through the locked door of the shop. Minor has rarely been busier than over the past year, he said, as investors have looked for safety and gold sellers have cashed out as prices for bullion soared.
But all that activity may soon come to a halt at Minor's shop and likely across Washington.
Minor will close his store in late December in response to the Legislature's move in the last session to end a longstanding sales tax exemption on the sale of bullion. Starting Jan. 1, people who purchase precious metals in Washington will pay state and local taxes ranging from 7.5% to 10.6%.
In Seattle, the sales tax will be 10.35%, which includes 6.5% in state tax and 3.85% in local tax, according to the state Department of Revenue.
In other words, if you buy an ounce of gold at the current price of around $4,100 in Seattle, you'll pay around $425 in sales tax starting next year.
Not a fan of Washington's tax policies, Minor said he was mulling an eventual move to Idaho anyway but hadn't planned to leave for at least a couple of years. He said he might open a shop in Coeur d'Alene or Sandpoint, Idaho, a state that doesn't tax bullion sales....
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/wa-gold-businesses-customers-brace-for-upcoming-tax-changes/
* * *
See the 2025 New Orleans Investment Conference
In the Comfort of Your Own Home While Helping GATA
You get it all -- every presentation, every workshop, over 40 hours of recordings featuring the picks, predictions, and macro analyses of dozens of today's top experts, including Matt Taibbi, Rick Rule, Mike Maloney, Mary Katharine Ham, Danielle DiMartino Booth, Brent Johnson, George Gammon, Peter St. Onge, Viva Frei, Robert Kiyosaki, Peter Boockvar, Brien Lundin, Chris Powell, and many more.
Plus, get to know the conference's sponsors through their presentations and exciting investment opportunities. On-demand access to all this invaluable content from the 2025 New Orleans Investment Conference, plus access to conference transcripts (once complete), is available to you for one low price, with a commission paid to GATA.
Please visit:
https://hp214.isrefer.com/go/2025noic/a37/
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
Donations of $250 will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work:
https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png
