Ohio precious metals sales-tax break proposed

COLUMBUS — The Ohio House moved legislation today to exempt certain gold and precious metal purchases from sales taxes.

HB 26 passed on a vote of 81-11 and heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

The bill focuses on investment metal bullion, defined in the legislation as "any elementary precious metal that has been put through a process of smelting or refining and which is in such a state or condition that its value depends upon its contents and not upon its form."

The tax break also would cover investment coins, "money and legal tender manufactured under the laws of the United States or any foreign nation with a fair market value greater than any statutory or nominal value."