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Minutes for SB303 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Establishing the Kansas legal tender act and providing for an income tax subtraction modification for sales of specie.
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 21, 2023
Jason Long, Office of Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill. The bill creates the Kansas Legal Tender Act. Under the bill, gold and silver coins would be legal tender and treated as standard money for the purposes of taxation. No one would be required to accept the coins as legal tender. (Attachment 3)
The Chairman called for proponent testimony.
Proponent Oral Testimony
John Axtell, Coordinator, Kansas Campaign of Liberty, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated the bill was designed to keep Kansans safe. He said the United States Constitution requires the states establish only gold and silver based currency as legal tender, and our founding fathers warned of the perils of paper money. He stated SB303 exempts gold and silver from all taxes, helping Kansas consumers and businesses, and is the first step towards sound money banking in Kansas. (Attachment 4)
Jp Cortez, Policy Director, Sound Money Defense League, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated under current law, when a taxpayer sells precious metals, they may owe capital gains taxes. In an era of raging inflation, several states have removed income taxes from constitutional money, and many other states are currently considering similar legislation. He said there's lots of appetite for sound money when the US dollar is faltering. (Attachment 5)
Vince Bateman, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated he is a proponent of the bill to have a backup of gold and silver to use as currency, should the US dollar become worthless. He said when currencies collapse, evil people come to power, which was seen with the Weimar republic in Germany prior to WWII. He explained that there is an attack on the US dollar by China, Russia and the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), who are buying up gold and silver. He would like the State of Kansas to acknowledge gold and silver as money. (Attachment 6)
Blake Branson, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated the latest banking crisis is under way, and if we follow what the constitution demands, Kansans would have a safe haven to protect themselves from the chaos currently being inflicted upon us. By exempting gold and silver from taxation, you give Kansans the option to shield themselves from recession, inflation and the banking crises currently being caused by the Federal Reserve and out of control federal government spending and debt. (Attachment 7)
Proponent Written Only Testimony
Robert Wood, private citizen (Attachment 8)
Kari Sue Vosburgh, private citizen (Attachment 9)
Emily Hamburg, private citizen (Attachment 10)
Brett Anderson, private citizen (Attachment 11)
Brent Davis, private citizen (Attachment 12)
The Chairman opened for a period of questions and answers.
The was no opponent, nor neutral testimony.
With no more questions, the Chairman closed the hearing on SB303.
