Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

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Libertarian666
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:37 am

ochotona wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:51 am
Looks like Prop 9 passed, narrowly... in other words, maybe it was needed.
I don't think we can have too many protections against government theft.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Tyler » Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:54 am

I'm surprised an anti-tax vote was that close in Texas, but then again I can imagine the average voter looks at a proposition about taxing gold and thinks "only rich people and cartoon ducks own gold, so why not?"

In any case, I did my part. 8)

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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by jhogue » Wed Nov 06, 2019 12:01 pm

A win for "Don't Mess With Texas" attitude.

BTW, Libertarian666, I love your new avatar. The Saint Gaudens $20 double eagle is my favorite coin design of all time.
“Groucho Marx wrote:
A stock trader asked him, "Groucho, where do you put all your money?" Groucho was said to have replied, "In Treasury bonds", and the trader said, "You can't make much money on those." Groucho said, "You can if you have enough of them!"
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:25 pm

jhogue wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 12:01 pm
A win for "Don't Mess With Texas" attitude.

BTW, Libertarian666, I love your new avatar. The Saint Gaudens $20 double eagle is my favorite coin design of all time.
Mine too. Btw, that is a picture of the 2008 test restrike of the original high relief coin.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by jhogue » Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:50 pm

I think I read somewhere that Teddy Roosevelt wanted the high relief coin for general circulation but the Treasury told him that it was impractical because it would not stack properly.

Have you tried stacking your 2008 restrike?
“Groucho Marx wrote:
A stock trader asked him, "Groucho, where do you put all your money?" Groucho was said to have replied, "In Treasury bonds", and the trader said, "You can't make much money on those." Groucho said, "You can if you have enough of them!"
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:24 pm

jhogue wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:50 pm
I think I read somewhere that Teddy Roosevelt wanted the high relief coin for general circulation but the Treasury told him that it was impractical because it would not stack properly.

Have you tried stacking your 2008 restrike?
No, for two reasons:
1. I have only one of them.
2. I don't want to mess it up. It has a fair amount of numismatic value, maybe $400 over the gold price.

BTW, it's a 2009, not a 2008. It's my Acura TL-S that's a 2008 collectible. >:D
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by jhogue » Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:49 pm

Do you know of any plans for Texas to strike their own gold coins?
“Groucho Marx wrote:
A stock trader asked him, "Groucho, where do you put all your money?" Groucho was said to have replied, "In Treasury bonds", and the trader said, "You can't make much money on those." Groucho said, "You can if you have enough of them!"
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:03 pm

jhogue wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:49 pm
Do you know of any plans for Texas to strike their own gold coins?
That would not be Constitutional: https://www.heritage.org/constitution/# ... te-coinage
But recognizing privately minted coins as legal tender would be perfectly Constitutional.
I'm pretty sure they are going to do that.

I have also heard that they have plans to issue debit and/or credit cards settled by transferring ownership of gold held in collective storage.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by ochotona » Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:17 am

I know many of you gush about Texas, but I just looked at my property taxes, and they exceed 2% of the value of my property, which is pretty bad in my view. It's not a low tax State... it could be depending on your holdings and your sources of income. It's a mixed bag.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:34 am

ochotona wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:17 am
I know many of you gush about Texas, but I just looked at my property taxes, and they exceed 2% of the value of my property, which is pretty bad in my view. It's not a low tax State... it could be depending on your holdings and your sources of income. It's a mixed bag.
Yes, it's a mixed bag:
No income tax or capital gains tax.
Relatively high sales taxes.
Fairly high property taxes, but that depends A LOT on where you live and whether you get over-65 and homestead exemptions.

The tax rate on my current rural property, with both of those exemptions, is a little less than 1%.
If and when we move to a higher cost area near Austin, our taxes will go WAY up, probably tripling in all due to the higher rate and more expensive housing.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by ochotona » Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:48 am

I wouldn't mind moving to College Station, the Houston-Dallas high Speed Rail will have a Brazos Valley stop, and i'd be able to get to Houston in a few minutes, and Dallas in an hour. The town is Roan's Prairie, 30 min drive east of Texas A&M. Supposed to be up and running by 2026.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/t ... 511073.php
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:24 am

MangoMan wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:57 am
Libertarian666 wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:34 am
ochotona wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:17 am
I know many of you gush about Texas, but I just looked at my property taxes, and they exceed 2% of the value of my property, which is pretty bad in my view. It's not a low tax State... it could be depending on your holdings and your sources of income. It's a mixed bag.
Yes, it's a mixed bag:
No income tax or capital gains tax.
Relatively high sales taxes.
Fairly high property taxes, but that depends A LOT on where you live and whether you get over-65 and homestead exemptions.

The tax rate on my current rural property, with both of those exemptions, is a little less than 1%.
If and when we move to a higher cost area near Austin, our taxes will go WAY up, probably tripling in all due to the higher rate and more expensive housing.
Quit whining. Here in IL we have property taxes that exceed 3% on homes and 15% on my office building. The highest sales tax in the nation in Chicago proper and an income tax that they are raising continually. Don't even get me started on all the other BS fees and taxes they layer on at every level of life. :'(
Who's whining? I'm agreeing that it's a mixed bag. Overall, it's a lot better than New York, where I lived before this.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:25 am

MangoMan wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:59 am
Libertarian666 wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:34 am

If and when we move to a higher cost area near Austin, our taxes will go WAY up, probably tripling in all due to the higher rate and more expensive housing.
Why on earth would someone with your views want to move to highly liberal Austin? I assume it's pretty conservative where you are now?
Not in Austin, near Austin. It's a 55+ retirement community that is very conservative overall: https://www.sctexas.org/club/scripts/se ... .asp?NS=HP
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Tyler » Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:05 am

ochotona wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:17 am
I know many of you gush about Texas, but I just looked at my property taxes, and they exceed 2% of the value of my property, which is pretty bad in my view. It's not a low tax State... it could be depending on your holdings and your sources of income. It's a mixed bag.
Yeah, property taxes are high in Texas. I've paid ~2.5% average between Dallas and Austin. It ain't cheap, and they almost always find a way to raise appraisals the maximum amount each year. But the thing I like about property taxes is that because they're tied to a consumption item you do have some amount of control in terms of the house you buy. And despite the high rate and rising housing costs, homes are still generally a lot cheaper in Texas than they are elsewhere. Double the property tax percentage on a house 1/4th the price is still half the overall tax paid compared to a similar home in California.

In any case, I see the amendment as a way to make it harder for politicians to institute an income tax on top of the already high property taxes. Because you know the type interested in creating an income tax would not be the same type to look to reduce taxes elsewhere.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by ochotona » Thu Nov 07, 2019 4:31 pm

Pug, can't you move to Indiana?
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Kriegsspiel » Thu Nov 07, 2019 7:48 pm

My property taxes are like 3.5% of what I bought my house for.

From what I remember, Texas had pretty cheap electricity in addition to its low taxes. I don't really buy much so sales tax doesn't affect me.
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by vnatale » Fri Nov 08, 2019 8:57 am

Kriegsspiel wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 7:48 pm
My property taxes are like 3.5% of what I bought my house for.

From what I remember, Texas had pretty cheap electricity in addition to its low taxes. I don't really buy much so sales tax doesn't affect me.
Using what you bought your house for as a denominator is a different measure than using its current assessed value (or fair market value) if you bought your house awhile ago and there is a major disparity between the two values. I bought my house on April 30, 1982 for about $30,000 and it is now assessed for about $165,000 so using those two in the denominators would lead to major differences in percent of the current taxes I am paying.

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by FarmerD » Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:08 pm

Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:03 pm
jhogue wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:49 pm
Do you know of any plans for Texas to strike their own gold coins?
That would not be Constitutional: https://www.heritage.org/constitution/# ... te-coinage
But recognizing privately minted coins as legal tender would be perfectly Constitutional.
I'm pretty sure they are going to do that.

I have also heard that they have plans to issue debit and/or credit cards settled by transferring ownership of gold held in collective storage.
I visited the Depository a few weeks ago and talked to the Texas Comptroller Representative. He said once the debit card is issued, you can sell some of your precious metal to the US Gold Bureau (they are co-located at the depository) and they will deposit dollars to fund your debit card account. So there apparently will not be any kind of collective storage nor will they be actually transferring gold from your account to someone else's account (except to US Gold Bureau).
I specifically asked the representative if the IRS would be able to tax a state run gold backed currency as Texas will be doing. He would not go into detail with me but did offer that Texas has sent several letters to the IRS on this issue over the past couple years but have not gotten any written replies. To me it's obvious the IRS knows they can't levy taxes on gold sales but are just stalling for time and hoping Texas drops the issue.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Xan » Fri Nov 08, 2019 2:35 pm

A wealth tax would still be pretty effective against this, I would think.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Kriegsspiel » Fri Nov 08, 2019 5:38 pm

vnatale wrote:
Fri Nov 08, 2019 8:57 am
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 7:48 pm
My property taxes are like 3.5% of what I bought my house for.

From what I remember, Texas had pretty cheap electricity in addition to its low taxes. I don't really buy much so sales tax doesn't affect me.
Using what you bought your house for as a denominator is a different measure than using its current assessed value (or fair market value) if you bought your house awhile ago and there is a major disparity between the two values. I bought my house on April 30, 1982 for about $30,000 and it is now assessed for about $165,000 so using those two in the denominators would lead to major differences in percent of the current taxes I am paying.

Vinny
I bought it last summer, it's probably worth a few thousand more right now, but whatever.
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:34 am

FarmerD wrote:
Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:08 pm
Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:03 pm
jhogue wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:49 pm
Do you know of any plans for Texas to strike their own gold coins?
That would not be Constitutional: https://www.heritage.org/constitution/# ... te-coinage
But recognizing privately minted coins as legal tender would be perfectly Constitutional.
I'm pretty sure they are going to do that.

I have also heard that they have plans to issue debit and/or credit cards settled by transferring ownership of gold held in collective storage.
I visited the Depository a few weeks ago and talked to the Texas Comptroller Representative. He said once the debit card is issued, you can sell some of your precious metal to the US Gold Bureau (they are co-located at the depository) and they will deposit dollars to fund your debit card account. So there apparently will not be any kind of collective storage nor will they be actually transferring gold from your account to someone else's account (except to US Gold Bureau).
They are indeed planning to have collective storage:

"Will the Texas Bullion Depository ever have a pooled storage offering?
A: The depository will offer a pooled method for storing gold or other precious metals in the future."

(from https://www.texasbulliondepository.gov/faqs)

And the person I usually talk to there told me that this was going to be set up so that you could transfer an amount of gold to collective storage and use your book entry in the collective storage to back the debit card. That way you wouldn't have to leave a lot of money tied up in cash but could leave it in gold.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by Libertarian666 » Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:35 am

MangoMan wrote:
Fri Nov 08, 2019 2:26 pm
Would that also apply to non-Texas residents who invest?
I don't think it would matter where the owner lived for that purpose.
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Re: Texas Statewide Proposition 9, November 2019 Election

Post by FarmerD » Mon Nov 11, 2019 9:21 am

Libertarian666 wrote:
Sat Nov 09, 2019 5:34 am
FarmerD wrote:
Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:08 pm
Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:03 pm


That would not be Constitutional: https://www.heritage.org/constitution/# ... te-coinage
But recognizing privately minted coins as legal tender would be perfectly Constitutional.
I'm pretty sure they are going to do that.

I have also heard that they have plans to issue debit and/or credit cards settled by transferring ownership of gold held in collective storage.
I visited the Depository a few weeks ago and talked to the Texas Comptroller Representative. He said once the debit card is issued, you can sell some of your precious metal to the US Gold Bureau (they are co-located at the depository) and they will deposit dollars to fund your debit card account. So there apparently will not be any kind of collective storage nor will they be actually transferring gold from your account to someone else's account (except to US Gold Bureau).
They are indeed planning to have collective storage:

"Will the Texas Bullion Depository ever have a pooled storage offering?
A: The depository will offer a pooled method for storing gold or other precious metals in the future."

(from https://www.texasbulliondepository.gov/faqs)

And the person I usually talk to there told me that this was going to be set up so that you could transfer an amount of gold to collective storage and use your book entry in the collective storage to back the debit card. That way you wouldn't have to leave a lot of money tied up in cash but could leave it in gold.
I'm confused now. I wonder if "collective storage" and US Gold Bureau's working inventory are the same thing? I'll be visiting the Depository again in a couple weeks and I'll try to clarify.
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