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In order to promote the use of gold as a financial instrument, the European Union has introduced a tax exemption for supplies of investment gold in all member states of the European Union. The new European Directive enhances the competitiveness of the European Community gold market.
Definition of investment gold:
- Gold, in the form of a bar or a wafer of weights accepted by the bullion markets, of a purity equal to or greater than 995 thousandths, whether or not represented by securities.
- Gold coins which are of a purity equal to or greater than 900 thousands, are minted after 1800, are or have been legal tender in the country of origin, and are normally sold at a price which does not exceed the open market value of the gold contained in the coins by more than 80%. Each year the European Member States must indicate which coins meeting these criteria are traded on their territory. These lists will be published in the Official Journal.
The supply, intra-Community acquisition and importation of investment gold are exempted from value added tax by the European Member States.
Traders in investment gold have special obligations in particular they are required to keep account of all substantial transactions in investment gold and to keep documentation to allow identification of customers for a period of at least five years.
View document Law 37-92-05. Investment Gold
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