Iceblue's (pseudonym) face screwed up as he read the letter in front of him. It was early March and the Australian Tax Office (ATO) had just written advising of an upcoming audit they intended to conduct on his business, South Gippsland Bullion (SGB). They noted their intent to inspect transactions covering the last several years of trading. He was probably thinking "Why me?" (wouldn't we all under such circumstances), but he may also have been aware that many other bullion dealers have faced similar scrutiny over the past 12-18 months with an industry wide series of audits being performed.
When the audit results arrived in mid May, advising that goods and services tax (GST) should be applied to the bullion products SGB sold, it would leave Iceblue with no choice but to close his doors (figuratively speaking given it was primarily run as an online business). The wording of the letter is ambiguous to say the least. It throws into question an assumed understanding in the bullion industry of what products should have GST applied, as industry veteran Bron Suchecki put it "..the arguments that the ATO now seem to be putting forward do not adhere to the understanding the industry had about what was bullion vs collectible."
GST is not applicable to bullion when sold in investment grade form. "What does that mean?" I hear you ask. Well, it's complicated and the results of this audit make the answers even less clear. You can read the Goods and Services Tax Ruling (GSTR) 2003/10 on what constitutes 'precious metal' for the purposes of sections 38-385 and 40-100 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act). In the letter sent to Iceblue finalising the audit the ATO highlighted the following passages of the above ruling:
GST is not applicable to bullion when sold in investment grade form. "What does that mean?" I hear you ask. Well, it's complicated and the results of this audit make the answers even less clear. You can read the Goods and Services Tax Ruling (GSTR) 2003/10 on what constitutes 'precious metal' for the purposes of sections 38-385 and 40-100 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act). In the letter sent to Iceblue finalising the audit the ATO highlighted the following passages of the above ruling:
In paragraph 8 of GSTR 2003/10 (The Ruling) the definition for precious metal identifies the metals and fineness that is set down in section 195-1 of the GST Act. Namely, 'precious metal' means:
(a) gold (in an investment form) of at least 99.5% fineness; or
(b) silver (in an investment form) of at least 99.9% fineness; or
(c) platinum (in an investment form) of at least 99% fineness.
The tradeable form is identified in paragraph 22: Bars, wafers and bullion coins are the physical forms in which the metals gold, silver and platinum are traded on the international bullion market for those metals. These are therefore forms of those metals that are capable of being traded on the international bullion market.
The term 'investment form' is considered in several paragraphs of the Ruling. In paragraph 29 a summary is provided:
- To summarise the above, for gold, silver or platinum to be in an investment form for the purposes of the GST Act, it must be in a form that:
- is capable of being traded on the international bullion market, that is, it must be a bar, wafer or coin;
- bears a mark or characteristic accepted as identifying and guaranteeing its fineness and quality; and
- is usually traded at a price that is determined by reference to the spot price of the metal it contains.
Paragraph 12 of the Ruling refers to items where: 'The price is not determined solely by the metal value of the coin. The price is determined by reference to the spot price and by reference to the quality of the physical characteristics of the coin. The latter indicates that proof coins are not traded for the metal value only and therefore 'indicates that they do not have the character of the metal, but rather the character of manufactured articles, that is, coins made from the metal. This means that proof coins are not precious metal.'
Paragraph 42 of the Ruling differentiates between the retail market and bullion markets: There are coins, such as some commemorative coins, that are marketed in the retail market as 'bullion' coins because they are made from bullion. Such coins are not bullion coins for the purposes of this Ruling. Whether a coin is precious metal does not depend on whether the coin is called a bullion coin or a proof or numismatic coin. The relevant test is not what the coin is called but whether it has the character of the metal. This will be determined, as noted above, by whether it is traded for its metal content or for other reasons.
The ATO's primary focus was on the 'Series of Dissent' (SoD) silver rounds of which SGB had several issues minted through manufacturer SBA Amalgamated. They zeroed in on the marketing used by SGB to sell these rounds, specifically referencing the wording around a strict mintage limit, that they won't be reproduced (with dies destroyed once the mintage was complete) and professionally commissioned artwork which adorned the pieces (among other characteristics).
The ATO also quoted something Iceblue had written on the forum Silver Stackers, pointing out he had called the round a 'collectible piece', however this was done so in the context of explaining that Aussie made rounds can't really compete with bullion pricing (i.e. with bullion products manufactured overseas or in larger quantities).
SGB sold the rounds on an
individual basis for around $14 over spot, with a $9 manufacturing
cost. The $5 profit was reduced to $1 per round when
a buyer purchased in quantities of 100 or greater. The price of the rounds was adjusted in reference to the prevailing spot price. The rounds were priced as bullion, not a proof or collectors coin even if the characteristics or marketing made it attractive to collectors. They just had a higher premium due to the local manufacturing costs.
In my view the SoD rounds met the three criteria required to be considered investment form (and exempt from GST). They were capable of being traded on the international market (once you take the size of the transaction into consideration it's likely many small bullion dealers would purchase the round), they were marked with fineness and quality and traded at a price that was referenced to the spot price.
In my view the SoD rounds met the three criteria required to be considered investment form (and exempt from GST). They were capable of being traded on the international market (once you take the size of the transaction into consideration it's likely many small bullion dealers would purchase the round), they were marked with fineness and quality and traded at a price that was referenced to the spot price.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the letter was not even the initial focus on the SoD rounds, but what reads like an afterthought highlighting other products which the ATO does not consider to be GST exempt (explicitly quoted below):
"Coins and bars produced by different mints which also have added characteristics and are in the retail market would not satisfy the definition of 'precious metal'.
Likewise other items sold by [SGB] are sold in a retail market and are differentiated by mint brand and various characteristics including themed year of productions, animals, religious periods, lunar year characters, country."
The ATO goes on to highlight a particular lunar product which is typically sold on the retail market for twice the prevailing spot price, but their wording seems to suggest that any product with 'added characteristics' such as a themed coin may in fact not satisfy the definition of 'precious metal' and be exempt from GST.
Long term readers of my articles would know that I specifically highlight many of the Perth Mint bullion coins as worthwhile investments due to their pleasing designs, low mintage and being individually capsuled. These are many of the same characteristics that the SGB SoD series had. It appears to be these and other characteristics which the ATO is now suggesting should result in GST being applied to bullion products.
In my mind it would make much more sense for the ATO to simplify these rules and remove all ambiguity. Reducing the test to purity of the metal (which should be lowered or exceptions made for 22k gold coins and government issued silver coins) and a maximum premium that can be charged (e.g. less than 100% markup over spot), along with the basic form being a wafer, round/coin or bar. Though my fear is they go the other way and increase the scope of GST on bullion.
There's a good chance this industry crack down and audits stem from the GST gold fraud which has been rife through Australia for some years. I am told (on good authority by industry insiders) that this practice is not only ongoing, but likely the number of people taking advantage of the loophole has increased.
In my mind it would make much more sense for the ATO to simplify these rules and remove all ambiguity. Reducing the test to purity of the metal (which should be lowered or exceptions made for 22k gold coins and government issued silver coins) and a maximum premium that can be charged (e.g. less than 100% markup over spot), along with the basic form being a wafer, round/coin or bar. Though my fear is they go the other way and increase the scope of GST on bullion.
There's a good chance this industry crack down and audits stem from the GST gold fraud which has been rife through Australia for some years. I am told (on good authority by industry insiders) that this practice is not only ongoing, but likely the number of people taking advantage of the loophole has increased.
Instead of seeing tangible results from the ATO on the investigation into real fraud costing the country hundreds of millions in lost revenue at a time of focus on fiscal responsibility, we see them putting a small, legitimate and innovative business under the microscope and then crushing them under their proverbial boot. Really the message from the ATO can be summarised from a slogan which was coincidentally minted on one of the SoD rounds... screw the taxpayer (well at least those who are investing in or selling physical bullion).
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