Taxation

In many tax regimes, silver does not hold the special position that is often afforded to gold. For example, in the European Union the trading of recognized gold coins and bullion products is VAT exempt, but no such allowance is given to silver. This makes investment in silver coins or bullion less attractive for the private investor, due to the extra premium on purchases represented by the irrecoverable VAT (charged at 20% in the United Kingdom and 19% for bars and 7% for bullion products with face value, e.g. US Silver Eagle and Maple Leaf, in Germany). The only jurisdictions in Europe where physical silver can be bought and sold at a VAT rate of 0% are Estonia, Guernsey, and, for physical bullion coins, Norway 31 which is part of the wider EEA free-trading area and has the same VAT rules on 'intra-community transactions' due to bilateral EFTA agreements with the rest of Europe. Estonian and Norwegian companies can legally deliver free of VAT to the rest of Europe within certain annual limits or can arrange for local pickup. Alternatively, they generally offer storage for the customer who can take delivery of his purchase later or sell it back to the vendor.32

Other taxes such as capital gains tax may apply for individuals depending on country of residence (tax status) and whether the asset is sold at increased nominal value.