Some States Still Levy A Sales Tax On Silver And Gold Sales -- May 5, 2021

Wow, this article sure caught me by surprise. I had no idea that some states had a sales tax on gold and silver sales. That really blew me away. Who knew?

But here it is, over at ZeroHedge: Arkansas ends sales taxes on gold and silver; additional states may soon follow. 

Say what?

I've bought gold and silver over the years and never paid a sales tax. It was my impression that "one" doesn't charge a sales tax on sales of "money." I've always looked at silver and gold as "money," not a commodity like oil. Yes I know gold and silver are commodities but just thought it was a bit different. 

Whatever. 

The good news: no sales tax on gold and silver in Texas. And apparently, if you live in a state where such sales are taxed, if  you take possession of your gold and/or silver in a state like Texas, the sales tax won't be charged. At least that's what I thought I read. If this is important to you, go to the source. 

I don't think there is a sales tax on buying and shares in the US equity market. Yes, there are taxes on capital gains, but no actual sales tax when buying equities. 

 Capital gains on gold and silver? Yes. 28%. Link here. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

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US Births

On another note, this one is a huge surprise. Or not. Births in US drop to levels not seen since 1979.

Millennials vs lockdown. But I'm wrong in my thinking.

The millennials "win." But for counterintuitive reasons. The lockdown is different than other-stay-at-home events.

Women delayed getting pregnant due to Covid-19 scare.

U.S. women had about 3.61 million babies in 2020, down 4% from the prior year, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows. The total fertility rate—a snapshot of the average number of babies a woman would have over her lifetime—fell to 1.64. That was the lowest rate on record since the government began tracking it in the 1930s, and likely before that when families were larger, said report co-author Brady Hamilton. Total births were the lowest since 1979.

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NYC Rapper 50 Cent Moves To Texas

Link here. One word: taxes.

That's what my wife said. 

I assumed he liked Texas politics. LOL.  

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Thursday Night Football

Amazon to get exclusive NFL rights to "Thursday Night Football" a  year earlier than expected. Link here. 

Fox exited a year earlier than expected. It would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall when this decision was being made. 

"Thursday night line-up" or "must-see TV."

Thursday Night Footbal, over at wiki.

This is a huge win for Amazon, for football fans, and perhaps for Americans in general.

• The "kneeling" controversy is receding in the rear view mirror.
• The stands will begin to fill again as the pandemic recedes.
• NFL to see a huge new market. 
• Amazon will push for better Thursday night match-ups. 
• Amazon could make some huge changes in the way the NFL markets, presents, airs its football games. Probably won't happen but could be interesting.
  
• Thursday Night Football games are not always held on Thursday nights. I assume all Thurday Night
• Football games are part of the Amazon package.

Metric to follow: pizza sales on Thursday nights. 

• The deal may offer a way for NFL to gradually phase out the NFL Network: my hunch, networks like the NFL Network drive ever-increasing subscription prices for cable companies.