How to buy gold and silver tax free

How to buy gold and silver tax free Learn the secrets of bullion investing By Peter Black www.bullionprice.co.uk Table of Contents Table of Content...
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How to buy gold and silver tax free Learn the secrets of bullion investing

By Peter Black www.bullionprice.co.uk

Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Who am I? ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................................ 3 What are precious metals?................................................................................................................... 4 Why precious metals now .................................................................................................................... 4 The rationale behind ownership ........................................................................................................... 8 Is it too late to buy gold and silver? ...................................................................................................... 9 How high can prices go? .................................................................................................................... 10 How to invest in precious metals ........................................................................................................ 10 Collectors coins .................................................................................................................................. 11 Pools and certificates ......................................................................................................................... 11 ETFs .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Futures & options ............................................................................................................................... 14 Gold and silver stocks ........................................................................................................................ 15 Paper metals vs physical metals ........................................................................................................ 15 How much precious metals should I own? ......................................................................................... 16 Why silver is especially interesting today ........................................................................................... 16 The devils metal ................................................................................................................................. 18 VAT on silver in the UK and EU ......................................................................................................... 18 Is the VAT window closing? ............................................................................................................... 19 How to buy silver VAT free ................................................................................................................. 19 Completing a purchase ...................................................................................................................... 25 What about taxes, duty etc? ............................................................................................................... 28 What silver to buy............................................................................................................................... 28 Precious metals buying strategy ........................................................................................................ 30 Why internationalization is good......................................................................................................... 32 Thank you for purchasing this book ................................................................................................... 33 Please help me out with a review ....................................................................................................... 33

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Introduction This book is intended to show investors how to buy precious metals with minimum costs. Understanding how precious metals work and the extraordinary opportunities this market now offers is key for making the correct investment decisions. I will show everything from why you should own precious metals to what you should buy and how you should store it. In the process I will also debunk some popular myths about precious metals investing. If you are a UK and European resident then this guide will also show you how to buy silver tax free. Beginners as well as seasoned investors should find this guide beneficial, and something that one can come back to for information on many aspects of precious metal investing. The guide is primarily dedicated to owning physical bullion although investing in securities with exposure to precious metals also is described.

Who am I? I am a mid 30’s accredited investor that managed to leave a life in investment banking for things I truly find stimulating such as travelling, international investing and entrepreneurship. You can read more about me and investing here: http://bullionprice.co.uk.

Disclaimer This work is based on SEC filings, current events, interviews, corporate press releases and what I've learned as an investor and researcher. It may contain errors and you shouldn't make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. It's your money and your responsibility.

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What are precious metals?

Precious metals are, according to Wikipedia; A classification of metals that are considered to be rare and/or have a high economic value. The higher relative values of these metals are driven by various factors including their rarity, uses in industrial processes and use as an investment commodity. Precious metals include, but are not limited to: gold, silver, platinum, iridium, rhodium and palladium.

Why precious metals now Before we start looking at the specifics of investing it can be interesting to see why gold, silver and other precious metals have become so popular. There is a wide range of factors that contribute to the rise in interest for precious metals. Below are six of the key reasons (not in any particular order):

Negative real interest rates

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Interest rates in the developed world are close to zero with inflation rates running increasingly higher. This means that you virtually aren’t sacrificing any yield by owning precious metals. The opportunity cost is highly favorable. As there, usually, is a storage cost associated with gold and silver the general viewpoint is the higher the yield on government “risk-free” securities the less attractive metals will become. Precious metals don’t pay a yield, which is why people tend to want to buy and own them when they are facing negative or low real interest rates. With U.S. rates poised to stay low to AT LEAST 2015 the chances of interest rates rising is slim.

1. The ownership of precious metals is low

Institutional ownership as a percentage of global financial assets is low. Many pension funds have only a very limited exposure to gold.

For individuals the situation is similar. In most of Europe and the U.S. you are swamped with advertising for “cash for gold”. People are encouraged to sell their gold at low prices. There is very little information about actually owning precious metals. Tell your friends that you think about buying a silver bar and they will look at you strangely.

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2. The monetization of debt

This is what many like to call the collapse of the fiat monetary system. Many western and developed nation’s currencies will eventually not be worth the paper they are printed on due to the explosion of money printing. As currencies become increasingly worthless people will turn to precious metals as a means of wealth protection. Just like it has been throughout history gold is still money. Probably the only “currency” where you have no counterparty risk. Why will the fiat monetary system collapse? Well, at the rate the Fed, BOJ, ECB etc are printing money there really is only one direction we are heading in.

For the U.S. specifically it will lead to the demise of the dollar as the worlds reserve currency. It is beyond the scope of this ebook to fully discuss this but suffice to say is that some international transactions already are settled in other currencies than the dollar. Also, some central banks in the world such as China and Russia are already discussing the possibility of replacing the dollar with a basket of currencies. We will probably also see some currencies being backed by gold in the future. 6

Central bank buying

After decades of selling gold central banks around the world are now net buyers again. Some, like China and Russia are aggressively buying gold. 2. Promotion of gold ownership Even though this might seem to contradict point 2 above, many countries around the world such as China actively promote private ownership of gold. I suspect we will see an awakening in western countries within the near future. Unlike Europe and the U.S., Asian and Middle Eastern economics have gone through wars, booms and busts more recently than us, and their populations are more educated about how to preserve wealth in a time of crisis. There is also a cultural relation to gold in many countries such as for example India. 4. There is a limited amount of precious metals

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Just as the headline says, there is a limited amount of gold and silver produced every year so precious metals are scarce. All of the gold ever produced in the world would according to some calculations fit into three Olympic size swimming pools. Platinum is even more scarce than gold.Finally, precious metals are the ultimate insurance policy against inflation. As more and more citizens realize the irresponsible and reckless way U.S. and European governments are handling monetary and fiscal policies, they will increasingly turn to precious metals. This will make it more difficult to buy these assets going forward. During periods of turmoil increased transaction costs is exactly what happens. We saw evidence of this during the financial crisis 2007-2008. At that time, gold buyers were forced to pay between a 9%15% premium over the spot price to buy coins. And coins were hard to come by. Shipping delays of 30-60 days were the norm and lags of up to four months were not uncommon. There were days when suppliers simply advised dealers not to sell, because no one could promise when, or even if, orders would be filled. With all of this in mind it becomes clear that owning and having exposure to precious metals makes sense. It also makes sense to build a position gradually, at a time when you really don’t NEED to do it because it will be much more difficult when everyone else wants to build positions.

The rationale behind ownership Whether you are a “prepper” preparing for the end of days, an astute speculator or an ordinary person investing your hard earned money, owning precious metals makes sense. You can own gold and silver as a means of preserving wealth over the long term, as a crisis hedge or simply as a means of diversification. You can also see it as a way of speculating, as we have to agree the drivers behind potential price rises are very strong. Depending on your outlook and preferences different types of precious metals will suit you. I would still advocate owning a little bit of everything though. More on that later. I know that some of the diehard gold bugs will scoff at owning paper gold and silver through various securities but to me it is simply to attractive an opportunity to be missed.. As long as you control your risk through diversification, position sizing and exit strategies investing in “paper gold” can be attractive. The precious metals boom can turn out to be the opportunity of the decade.To summarize, you can own precious metals for many reasons:  Speculation  Wealth preservation & crisis hedge  Hedge against inflation  Hold wealth in tangible assets  International asset diversification

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Is it too late to buy gold and silver? Gold has had a +10 year bull market so many would ask if now really is the time to buy. This view is prevalent among many people but given the strong fundamentals discussed earlier it simply doesn’t make any sense NOT to have at least some allocation towards precious metals.

During the last 10-12 years gold has actually gone through several corrections, with a larger magnitude than the 2012 correction. The same applies to silver.

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No bull market can have a straight linear development. There will always be temporary corrections along the way. History shows that the bull market has continued even after corrections and with the strong drivers for a continued bull market the case for precious metals still is attractive.If you listen to the real skeptics they would argue that the price of both gold and silver should be even higher due to market manipulation. There has been hearings on this such as for example the JP Morgan and HSBC silver price manipulation probe, that was dropped in the beginning of 2012. The banks had allegedly manipulated the price of silver at the time when JP Morgan acquired Bear Stearns and its silver positions. That doesn’t surprise me at all. It wouldn’t be the first time and definitely not the last time that will happen.

How high can prices go? This question, although interesting is of course impossible to answer. What can be said, apart from the strong fundamentals mentioned earlier, is that true market wizards such as Eric Sprott of Canada’s Sprott Asset Management believe that silver will go to $90 per ounce. Even banks such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch is forecasting gold prices of $2400 per ounce by the end of 2014. Forecasts are subject to, regular, change but it is interesting to witness that even the big Wall Street and London City banks believe in higher prices, as they are a few of the key beneficiaries of the paper money system. Precious metal prices have very high growth potential and just the figures mentioned show that there still is room for significant gains from today’s entry points.

How to invest in precious metals There is a wide range of investment options when it comes to precious metals. Everything from physical ownership to securities investments. As I have mentioned earlier I believe that one should have exposure to both securities and physical ownership of precious metals. There are a few things to consider for each type of investment though to avoid the most common mistakes. The argument that you only should hold gold or silver bullion due to the systemic risks that the western democracies debt level have created doesn’t really warrant not having any positions at all the coming years, as long as you control your level of risk. During a period of increasing inflation, which is very likely to happen given all of the money printing that goes on, many assets will perform well. Stocks, commodities and especially precious metals in all forms. This is what some call “the Bernanke asset bubble”. I like the saying; it is difficult to predict the end of the world as it very rarely happens…. So do invest in other forms of precious metals, other than bullion, if you want to but make sure that you mitigate the risk by adequate position sizing, diversification and exist strategies.I have listed the most common types of precious metal investments below as an introduction. 10

Collectors coins A type of coin that typically has a higher value then the face value on the coin, due to historical information about the coin. Coins that are considered rare or considered ancient will often have a significantly higher monetary value than the suggested value. Numismatic coins are highly coveted by coin collectors because of their history and potential value. As mentioned collector’s coins can hold a lot of value and thus make them an attractive way of storing significant amounts of wealth in one single piece. This is attractive for diversification purposes but also because it becomes easier to store or transport wealth. According to some when you invest in a numismatic coin, you are taking a major risk because you pay a premium over gold, or silver for the coin. This is indeed true which is why you need to monitor how much over for example gold’s spot price a specific gold coin is trading. Today, many collector’s coins in gold offer premiums that almost are at historical lows over the spot price of gold. Some of these coins have during the last bull market in the 1980’s traded at significant levels over spot. If you buy the right coins today you potentially stand to make good money as the debt crises worsens over the coming years. There are however coins that I would advise against buying. What I recommend is only buying the most common, liquid collector’s coins so that you are sure that the coin is legitimate and that you can get multiple bids for it whenever you decide to sell. You should not expect these coins to trade in perfect correlation with the gold price as their drivers are partly are different. A good idea is probably to have a limited amount of exposure to numismatic coins and the rest in bullion coins. Two common questions about numismatic coins are if they are reportable to the government and if they are “non-confiscatable”. The “non-confiscatable” question refers back to 1933, when U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a misguided attempt to combat deflation and stabilize the U.S. dollar in the throes of the Great Depression, signed into law an Executive Order 6102 that banned U.S. citizens from owning any gold—if you didn’t exchange your gold for Federal Reserve notes, you could be sentenced for up to 10 years in prison. The only exception under Roosevelt’s order was collectible gold coins (rare or unusual, having “a recognized special value” to the owner). It is beyond the scope of this ebook to discuss this topic fully but as stated above. If you buy collector’s coins, only buy the most common types and only for a small amount of your net worth.

Pools and certificates Many gold dealers offer gold held in a pooled account, and two ownership structures are available: allocated and unallocated. Both offer delivery of the physical metal. An unallocated account means you don’t have title to any specific coins or bars, but instead have fractional ownership of the total pool of metal together with other investors. Allocated accounts mean you own specific coins and bars within the total pool of metal.

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If you intend to regularly trade in and out of gold and never plan to take delivery, pooled accounts might make sense for part of your portfolio. The metal is purchased for a smaller premium than for physical, and most vendors offer guaranteed buyback that makes selling your metal quick and easy. Unallocated accounts tend to be the cheapest purchase option and often come with low or zero storage fees. Vendor reputation is critical, as the relationship is based on trust that the metal will be there should you opt for delivery, and that’s not a certainty since you have no clear title to specific property (here, too, contract terms may permit the dealer to elect a cash payout in certain circumstances). Also, opting for delivery from a pooled account requires a fabrication fee. The fee and fabrication delays can be substantial depending on market conditions. A third option is a fully segregated account where specific lots of coins and/or bars are held in your name. No fractional ownership. No pooling. A segregated account does not incur delivery fabrication fees, but storage charges are typically very high. When you buy into a bullion pool or certificate, you become a creditor of the bullion bank storing your precious metals. Just as when you deposit your currency at a bank, the bank doesn't keep your dollars separate from everyone else’s dollars; the bank simply tells you in your bank statements or online how much it owes you—essentially, your wealth is transmuted into digits in a computer.Legally, however, when you buy into a gold pool or certificate program, the bank becomes the owner of your precious metals. If the bullion bank gets into financial trouble, it can sell your gold to maintain its assets at a level where it won’t get shut down and where it will avoid a run on the bank. In that instance, you won’t be paid back in gold, but rather in currency—less currency than the value of the gold the bank owed you—because logically a bank in trouble almost certainly would be forced to sell your assets at fire-sale prices. If you live in a country with some kind of bank deposit protection (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the United States or Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the U.K.), your gold will not be covered. That’s because deposit insurance only applies to currency—meaning that, in the likely event of a bank crash, currency deposits are safer than unallocated gold. Purchasing gold or silver through pools or certificate programs is cheaper than purchasing a like amount of physical gold or silver, primarily because most pools or certificates hold the metals in unallocated storage—which means your metals are comingled with everyone else’s metal. This is an easy way to get started in investing in precious metals, but try to go for full allocated storage options, home storage or safety deposit boxes instead of these solutions.

ETFs those that aren’t. Among the latter are exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. By far the largest and best known of these is the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE.GLD). Each GLD share “represents” approximately onetenth of an ounce of gold held in the company’s London vault and is priced accordingly. GLD offers easy exposure to the gold price through your equities broker, and the commissions will likely be lower than the purchase premiums for physical metal. If you simply want to play the trend and book some paper profits, this is a convenient way to do it. However, there are caveats. Theoretically, shares can be converted into physical metal, but the conditions attached make that all but impossible for the individual investor, and the company reserves the right to settle requests for physical delivery in cash. In addition, the rather opaque wording in the company’s prospectus has critics questioning whether some of the trust’s underlying assets might be 12

paper gold instead of bullion (the company denies this). And finally, the company’s operating expenses are paid by selling bullion, so the gold A popular second option is closed-end funds (CEFs), the best known being the Central Fund of Canada (NYSE. CEF). Like ETFs, these are traded on major exchanges, are backed by vaulted bullion, and should not be considered a substitute for physical ownership. CEFs are another paper way to ride the precious metal trend. The main difference between closed-end and exchanged traded funds is that ETFs move gold into and out of its vaults as shares are created and redeemed in tandem with rising or falling demand. CEFs buy physical metal and keep it; hence the number of shares outstanding remains constant. Accordingly, shares don’t necessarily mimic the price of gold. Instead, the share price responds to demand and thus can trade at a premium or discount to the net asset value (NAV) of the underlying precious metal holdings. A gold CEF will outperform physical gold in a strong bull market, as mounting investor demand collides with a static number of available shares and causes a premium to emerge, but it can fare poorly in a bear market, as demand falls away. ETFs, or exchange traded funds gives anyone easy access to investing in precious metals. When you buy ETFs you don’t have to worry about storage, premiums or which coins and bars to buy. In that respect they can be very flexible. You can buy them with or without gearing ie leverage and you don’t have to worry about rolling futures contracts as this is automatically handled by the fund. On the other hand, when you invest in a gold or silver exchange-traded fund, you rarely become the sole owner of actual gold or silver. For an ETF represented to be backed by gold or silver, the fund managers will contract with a custodian to hold the gold or silver in a vault. The custodian is usually a large, international bank, serving as a custodian for numerous customers. Most of the time, because the custodian is a huge multi-national corporation with thousands of accounts, when gold or silver is bought or sold, the metal never physically moves. Title to the bars of gold or silver is simply transferred from the seller to the buyer as a book entry in a massive computer network. This is where problems can arise: If the custodian is allowed to appoint sub-custodians, and the subcustodians are allowed to appoint sub-sub-custodians and so on, now the gold or silver is spread out over various geographic locations. The only way to prove these sub-custodians hold enough gold or silver at any given point in time to fully back the account is for the ETF to require the custodian and all sub-custodians to be audited, during non-trading hours, all on the same day. If the gold ETF or silver ETF does not regularly require this type of audit of its custodian and sub-custodians, chances are high that the same physical gold may be purchased or owned by the same entity or individual at the same time. Many metals experts believe that silver ETFs and gold ETFs may hold less than the amount of precious metals they supposedly own or none at all. Precious metals ETFs will furthermore not always be perfectly correlated with the underlying assets price, especially if you invest in leveraged funds due to decay. Leveraged ETFs should really only be considered short term plays, whereas unleveraged ETFs could be held for the longer term.

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For most precious metals investors, the essence of keeping your hard-earned wealth in precious metals is to own a physical asset that can weather any economic storm. When you put your wealth in ETFs, you simply become an unsecured creditor of a big bank and it is not certain what will happen if turmoil should strike. As is true of any electronic or paper form of wealth, the investor can be denied access to the value of his or her gold ETF or silver ETF shares due to Acts of God, war, force majeure, confiscation, computer glitches, fraud, insolvency, lawsuits, liens, garnishment, etc. We have already seen examples of this with the MF Global incident. Given those caveats, coupled with the very real possibility that silver and gold ETFs are not backed by physical gold or silver, investing in real, physical gold or silver for the “wealth preservation” part of your portfolio will always be the safer bet. The higher premiums investors pay for physical gold and silver stored either their home or in a segregated fully insured vault account seems a small price to pay in exchange for a safe and secure investment in these cases. Due to high annual ETF management fees, more often than not, it is much less expensive to store precious metals in a private, segregated, fully insured gold and silver vault as opposed to having your silver ETF or gold ETF shares diluted from exchange trade fund or ETF management fees. To me, investing in unleveraged and leveraged ETFs only makes sense if it is part of pure speculation, which is totally fine and most likely with the chance of being very profitable. However, don’t confuse this with being a crisis hedge or part of your wealth preservation strategy.

Futures & options Futures and options are contracts that can give precious metals investors leverage, which can magnify their gains, but also, magnify their losses. If there were to be a default on the commodities exchanges during the coming gold and silver rush, the exchanges could possibly change the rules to allow liquidation orders only. In that case, investors holding futures contracts for gold or silver would be forced to accept payment in cash (currency) instead of redeeming their shares for physical silver or gold, as their contracts entitle them to do. In an alternate scenario the exchanges might freeze prices on all open contracts, while prices on gold and silver for immediate delivery and off exchange silver (silver in private hands or silver in private vaults outside of the commodities exchanges) continue to shoot for the moon. Investing in futures and options is highly speculative and should only be done by people that are very accustomed to both the contracts but also the underlying assets.

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Gold and silver stocks

As the graph above shows GLD, which is one of the largest gold ETFs has significantly outperformed GDX, which tracks a basket of gold mining stocks, over the last year. Quite recently the gold mining stocks have started a new uptrend and for many there are significant upside potential. With rising gold and silver prices many of these companies stand to make good profits. This will be positive for the entire industry. Even so, one needs to be a bit cautious when it comes to gold miners, especially junior gold miners or the small companies, as up to 90% of this space never will make any gold discoveries. Many will thus not make any money at all other than for their owners. There are possibilities of making triple digit returns over the coming years within this sector. Before diving into this space it is important to realize that the price performance of these stocks won’t be perfectly correlated to precious metal prices. Read up on this before you start investing in individual companies. Small positions in any of the bigger ETFs should probably be a good idea straight away though.

Paper metals vs physical metals We’ve discussed a number of options for investing in physical precious metals as well as securities. My view on the allocation between paper gold and silver and physical gold and silver is clear. Physical precious metals should really be a key component of your net worth. Coins and bars have been the store of wealth for millennia as opposed to paper wealth that today, unfortunately is full of counterparty risk. Bullion is real money which is why everyone needs to have a meaningful allocation to it.

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How much precious metals should I own? How much precious metals you own will depend on many things such as your view on the global economy, risk appetite etc. A good rule of thumb is to have between 10-20% of your investable assets in physical precious metal holdings. Any extra exposure in the form of securities will be on top of that percentage amount.

Why silver is especially interesting today

Although most precious metals are interesting today, silver is probably the one that sticks out. Why is that? Something that can explain this is the so-called “gold silver ratio”. It is defined as the price of gold divided by the price of silver. The graph below shows the gold silver ratio between 1687 to 2012.

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Over the years this ratio has varied a lot. Since 1687 the ratio has been between 14.4 to 99.76. Over this period the average gold to silver ratio was 27.28. During 2012 the ratio has been between 50-60. In 2011, when silver peaked just below 50 the ratio was at its lowest since 1983, at a level of 32. This means that silver in relation to gold was at its priciest point for 30 years. It is important to understand that the ratio can change for two reasons. The price of gold can go down and/or the price of silver can go up. Given the general fundamentals for precious metals let’s assume that gold isn’t overvalued. That means that silver still have room to rise in relation to the historical gold silver ratio average of 27.28. The natural occurring ratio of silver vs gold in the earth is 17:1 which corresponds well to the ratio displayed in the graph between 1687-1882. Since the beginning of the 1990s silver has clearly been on a rise versus gold, thereby decreasing the ratio, so the overall trend is that silver is appreciating versus gold. If silver was to return to it’s historical average, with a ratio of between 17:1 to 27.28:1, the silver price would be between $65-$104 (given a gold price per ounce of $1772). That leaves room for a significant price increase from the current level. The gold silver ratio should not be used as the sole tool for timing investments in silver, but it does add to the range of positive drivers for silver.

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The devils metal

Silver is a very difficult metal to trade. Due to its price volatility it has often been described as “the devils metal”…or as one trader from HSBC put it “like gold on crack”. My point here is just to caution you on taking on too much risk when investing in silver securities, especially leveraged silver securities. Physical ownership of silver, which predominantly acts as a crisis hedge and value preservation, not speculation, is by definition not as sensitive.

VAT on silver in the UK and EU

This description primary relates to UK silver bullion investing, although the same can be applied to many other countries where silver is burdened by being subject to value added tax (VAT). Value added tax applies to all silver bullion bars and coins in the UK. Gold bullion investments in coins and bars are not subject to VAT in the UK or in the EU. First things first. Why is silver subject to VAT? Well, if you look at websites of most of the UK bullion dealing companies things become a bit comical. The answer apparently is “why shouldn’t it be?”. 18

The same could of course be said about gold with the key difference being that silver is also used for industrial purposes and should thus like any other raw material, goods or service be subject to VAT. To me, it is unreasonable to separate the two as they both have been considered being money throughout history. Either both of them are subject to tax or none of them are. That is however my opinion. Given that silver is subject to VAT most dealers say that it is more of a speculative investment and some deter you from investing because silver is more volatile. Even though silver may be volatile we have earlier looked at why silver is offering some of the greatest opportunities in the market currently. If you buy silver in the UK today it means that you will have to see a minimum 20% price increase in silver to break even, not taking any other upfront or running costs into account.

Is the VAT window closing? An interesting question when looking at precious metals is, will all bullion bars and coins be subject to VAT going forward? Of course one can only speculate if this will happen but it is not entirely unreasonable to assume so. The key rationale behind why it should change is the debt burden that many western countries have to deal with today. The U.S. is for example the largest debt holder in the history of the world. No country has ever outgrown a debt equivalent to the U.S. When you reach the point of borrowing to pay off loans you’ve really reached the point of no return. The UK has its own share of debt problems so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that there will be increased taxation, and as the interest for bullion bars and coins grow gold and silver will end up on the governments radar. In several countries that is already the case, such as for example in Germany where a decision recently was made to increase the VAT on silver. Therefore it is advisable to take positions in silver now as it in the future may become more difficult to buy precious metals without paying VAT.

How to buy silver VAT free To buy silver VAT free you will have to acquire silver abroad. You can do this from the comfort of your own home, or you can do it by actually visiting countries where silver isn’t subject to VAT. What you decide to do after you have purchased the silver free of VAT will of course determine if any extra taxes are added to the cost.

United States

The U.S. market offers one of the best liquidities in the world as well as a high level of price transparency. There simply are so many dealers from which you can purchase your precious metals. The downside is that you will have to go there to buy the silver and bring it back with you. You can of 19

course have it delivered to your home but that will incur extra shipping charges and possibly customs charges.

Singapore

Another option that is very attractive is Singapore. As of 1 October 2012 there is no tax on silver (or gold) bullion bars and coins as long as they fulfill the necessary criteria. Singapore is probably one of the safest and most business oriented countries in the world. Buying, and storing silver there is an excellent alternative. If you are interested in learning more about how to diversify internationally - by buying and storing silver locally in Singapore then go to my website: http://bullionprice.co.uk/ The following rules apply for Singapore tax exemption: In broad terms the bill states four basic qualifying criteria which must be fulfilled: 1. Purity of silver, gold, and platinum should be 99.9%, 99.5% and 99% respectively 2. Is capable of being traded on the international bullion market (see detailed criteria below) 3. Bears a mark or characteristic that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing its quality 4. Trades at a price based on the spot price of the metal it contains.

In addition the following detailed criteria apply:

1. Only a subset of investment coins are tax exempt:

GOLD

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1. America Buffalo 2. Australia Kangaroo Nugget 3. Australia Lunar 4. Austria Philharmoniker 5. Canada Maple Leaf 6. China Panda 7. Malaysia Kijang Emas 8. Mexico Libertad 9. Singapore Lion¨

SILVER

1. America Eagle 2. Australia Kookaburra 3. Australia Koala 4. Australia Lunar 5. Austria Philharmoniker 6. Canada Maple Leaf 7. China Panda 8. Mexico Libertad

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PLATINUM

1. America Eagle 2. Australia Koala 3. Australia Platypus 4. Canada Maple Leaf

Only bars refined by current or past LBMA / LPPM accredited refiners are tax free:

SILVER

http://www.lbma.org.uk/pages/index.cfm?page_id=30&title=silver_list

GOLD

http://www.lbma.org.uk/pages/index.cfm?page_id=29&title=gold_list 22

PLATINUM

http://www.lppm.com/lists.aspx?type=pt

Please note that IPM Status applies to all qualifying bars made by these refiners and is not limited to the bulky (1,000 oz t silver and 400 oz t gold) good delivery bars. For example the popular 100 oz Johnson Matthey silver bars are tax exempt as they fulfill all basic qualifying criteria and Johnson Matthey is a refiner in the LBMA list. Credit Suisse branded gold bars are also tax exempt as they fulfill the basic qualifying criteria and are refined by "Valcambi SA" which uses the logo "Essayeur Fondeur" - see mark on bar - and is a refiner on the LBMA list. Beside the above list IE Singapore can add additional refiners. As of 4 September 2012, there are no additional refiners qualified by IE Singapore. -------------------------------------Click on the link for full details about how to diversify internationally - by buying and storing silver locally in Singapore: http://bullionprice.co.uk/ --------------------------------------

3. Furthermore IE Singapore (a Singapore government entity) can qualify additional bullion refiners to be tax exempt

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Estonia

Unbeknownst to many, Estonia has no VAT on silver if the purchase fulfills certain criteria. As opposed to Norway, which also offers silver without VAT, you are able to ship your silver from Estonia to another EU country or pick it up yourself without incurring a VAT charge. . This makes a lot of sense if you are based in Europe as you can order the silver only and have it shipped within the EU to your home. That means no customs charges. -------------------------------------Click on the link for full details about how and where to buy silver VAT and tax free from Estonia: http://bullionprice.co.uk/ --------------------------------------

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Completing a purchase To go ahead with your purchase you will have to find a trustworthy company that sells bullion bars and coins. Usually, you can pay with wire transfer or check. In some cases you will also be able to use credit cards although this may be restricted for non-U.S. customers, as for most sellers delivery will have to be made to the address for which the card is registered. Factor in any international wire transfer fees to get the total purchase price. If you are monitoring the price of silver for specific entry points, such as a temporary drop etc you might be interested to time your purchase to the drop. Naturally, you won’t be able to travel overseas at any time to pick up your delivery. In these cases you can try asking the bullion dealer if they can delay delivery, but if they can’t you can tell them to ship it to a U.S. mailbox, from where you can control the delivery to a time that will suit you.www.nybox.com provides U.S. mail addresses. Once you have opened an account you will be able to receive packages to a U.S. street address and then time the shipping either to a U.S. address or directly overseas. It is important to understand that this isn’t a precious metals storage facility so it should only be used for a limited time and for smaller amounts. When it comes to storage, you will have two choices. Either you store the silver bullion locally or you bring it back home with you. Any tax or import duty implications for your home country is something that you will have to consider before bringing the silver bullion with you.

Bringing the bullion with you Once you have made the purchase you will have to determine a delivery address. The easiest thing for you to do is have the package shipped to your hotel. I have done this many times. Since your shipment is insured you should have little to worry about. Naturally, you will have to time the delivery for when you are in the hotel but most shipments are made with Fedex overnight or similar. The hotel will sign for the package on your behalf and keep it for you until you can pick it up yourself. You will want to make sure that the hotel has a safety deposit box that you can store your silver until checkout. You can carry $10,000 worth of silver with you (assuming a $30 per ounce price) even though it is going to be quite heavy. When you are ready to bring the coins or bar with you, either home or to a storage location there are a few things to consider. First of all, there is no guarantee how customs officials will react, even though I have always had positive experiences. If you decide to transport your silver in your carry on luggage, start with a smaller amount to be on the safe side. For substantial amounts, anything above $10,000-$15,000, I suggest using a professional precious metals transport company such as ViaMat (http://www.viamat.com/viamat/index.php?navid=2). Ultimately, this is your decision and your risk. For the U.S. gold and silver are not considered to be a form of money, therefore they are not reportable to U.S. Customs as long as the legal tender value is less than $10,000. If you are leaving the U.S. with more than $10,000 based on the face value of the coins or bars you will have to declare it on FinCEN form 105: http://www.fincen.gov/forms/files/fin105_cmir.pdf. 25

I have never had any issues at all transporting gold or silver from the U.S. Since larger amounts of coins, ie +20, will be stored in tubes they are easily picked up when you are going through airport security. The customs agents will ask you what it is, and all you have to do is tell them it is collectors pieces. Not once, have I had a follow up question. If, for some reason, you should get an especially difficult customs agent you are equipped with the knowledge above regarding the $10,000 threshold. Now, I would like to tell you something else that you most likely won’t have use for but if you do it will make the customs agent look very silly for doubting that you know what you are doing. There is a quite obscure regulation (not exactly a law) covered in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 15 Part 30 which requires you to file an export report with the U.S. Census Bureau if you leave the U.S. with ore than $2,500 worth of precious metals (based on market value). This regulation will not apply to most people leaving the country with precious metals because there is an important exemption that you should be aware of. Section 30.37(p) states that filing a report is not required when “baggage and personal effects” are “not shipped as cargo under a bill of lading or an air waybill and do not require an export license…”. What this boils down to is that under the assumption that your silver does not require an export license (which it usually would not do), and that you are carrying it with you for personal use as part of your personal effects, you are not required to file an export report to the U.S. government. I know that was very detailed, but in case you are asked detailed questions…which is highly unlikely…then you will be able to motivate why you are carrying you silver with you. Even if you were to bring more than $10,000 worth of bullion there are no issues with reporting it at customs. In some cases they will ask you to fill out the FinCEN form, in other cases they won’t. People, especially coin dealers, are transporting very large, six figure amounts, on a regular bases without encountering much trouble. Still, given how things are progressing in the U.S. I would recommend taking it slow initially so that you get a feel for it. When it comes to Singapore I see no real reason for travelling there to bring the bullion back home with you, as Singapore is one of the safest banking destinations in the world. If you do decide to bring your silver from Singapore there will be new rules from 1 October 2012. When that legislation is clear I will send out a free update to all buyers of the ebook. Once you get back to your home country you should take the route through “declarations” at customs to complete the journey.

Storing the bullion in the U.S. There are many options to store gold. In most cases you can have the supplier of your gold arrange for storage or provide you with options for storage.

Storing the bullion in Singapore Singapore provides a wide range of options for both buying and storing silver.

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I believe one firm distinguishes itself, offering very attractive prices as well as local storage which is free for a period of 2 years. No one else comes close to their offer. -------------------------------------Click on the link for full details about how to diversify internationally - by buying and storing silver locally in Singapore: http://bullionprice.co.uk/ --------------------------------------

Storing the bullion at home Once you have the silver in your home country there are a number of things that you can do. You can either decide to burry it at home in your own garden for easy access. Typically, this is done in a properly sealed PVC pipe. It goes without saying that you need to ensure that no one notices and that you remember where you buried it. Another option is to use a home safe. The best option is to have a hidden, built-in safe. If you go for another solution make sure that the safe is too heavy for potential thieves to carry off.Parts of your possessions should ideally be stored at home, some offsite and some internationally. More on that later.

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What about taxes, duty etc? It is perfectly fine to buy goods that aren’t subject to VAT in the country of purchase. Whether you pay customs charges and the size of such charges when you bring it back to your home country will depend on where you live. It is beyond the scope of this ebook to fully cover that topic. All silver, or tax liable precious metals, that I purchase abroad is stored abroad. I furthermore don’t sell these possessions, so that they become subject to capital gains tax, as these are crisis hedges and long term holdings in my portfolio. Naturally, these possessions should be disclosed but the point I am making here is that you’re not doing anything illegal and your possessions are out of reach…for anyone wishing to gain access to them. Thus, it is a very good way of securing a portion of your net worth. I am not advocating that you refrain from paying taxes or duties or skipping reporting requirements whenever they are due. It will be up to you to find out exactly how your own situation is affected by your actions.

What silver to buy There is a wide range of silver buying options. For most, buying the most internationally well-known coins and bars is the way to go. This will make it easy for you to value and sell your possessions in the future as you will own the most well-known and liquid types of silver.

100oz bar of silver

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1000oz bar of silver

Silver American Eagle (1 oz) Coin

Silver Canadian Maple Leaf (1 oz) Coin

Silver Austrian Philharmonic (1 oz) Coin

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Precious metals buying strategy

When you buy silver, or any precious metal for that matter I suggest diversifying your purchases as well as your storage. Just as any prudent investor wouldn’t only own one single stock or mutual fund you shouldn’t put all of your precious metals “eggs” in one single basket either. Diversification applies to storage, as nowadays many investors are rightfully more concerned about return of capital rather than return on capital. Also, given the fact that there have been a few incidents over the last couple of years where tungsten filled gold bars have been found (in the UK: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/tungsten-filled-1-kilo-gold-barfound-uk and in Germany: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/german-prosieben-tv-channel-finds-500-gramtungsten-bar-wcheraeus-gold-foundary-bank-origin) it makes sense to: 1. always buy from a reputable dealer 2. spread your purchases between a limited number of trustworthy dealers 3. have parts or the full amount of your possessions tested

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Below are a couple of images from the recent finds.

I show these images, not with the intention of scaring you, just to make you aware of that these things do exist. This is another reason to start buying your bullion now and not wait until we reach a crisis point. An example of this is the demise of the Roman empire where debasement of bullion become very common as inflation started to pick up concurrent with the empires fall.

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Why internationalization is good There are a many reasons why you should consider holding parts of your precious metal possessions in foreign locations. The most important factor is to get jurisdictional diversification. If you keep all of your assets in one single country you are taking a great risk. Going global now with your assets helps mitigate four serious risks to your financial health:

• Confiscation or Outlawing of personal gold ownership. • Capital Controls – the government limits or denies a citizen’s right to carry or send any form of money abroad. • Administrative Actions – seizure of property by a government agency without notice or due process. Becoming enmeshed in a frivolous civil lawsuit. • Currency debasement/inflation that will lower one’s standard of living and destroy wealth not adequately protected. These risks can be reduced but not completely eliminated. There is no perfect solution. Nonetheless, political diversity is an essential element of an overall protection strategy against an uncertain future. When diversifying internationally it is important to be aware of that foreign held assets require more planning: • Access to your precious metals may not be quick and easy. Foreign held bullion is for those with sufficient gold and silver already stored at or near home. Storing all your precious metals overseas defeats one of its purposes – to have it handy for an emergency. • The receipt of proceeds after a sale will take time. The delay between selling your foreign-held gold and receiving the funds can be days. Offshore gold should not be considered as ready cash. • While the US may pose the greatest threat, a foreign government could move to control certain assets as well. The risk varies by country and is generally greater within the banking system than with a private vaulting facility. Evaluate a country before making a selection. Choose a location with a history of strong depositor protection, governed by the rule of law, and solid property rights – and select a vault with the highest reputation. • Understanding and complying with reporting requirements is essential. More below. The bottom line: gold stored abroad is all about minimizing risks and maximizing options. As your metal holdings grow and governments become increasingly desperate, diversification becomes increasingly important.

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Thank you for purchasing this book Thank you for buying this Kindle book! I sincerely hope that you will benefits from it. I wish you best of luck with your investing and diversification into precious metals!

Please help me out with a review If you've found this book helpful then please help me out with a review. I also appreciate all of the "likes" that I can get. You can review and like the book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BML2V9E.

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