When the IRS says so, that’s when! This is a clear case of the IRS making up rules as they go along. They do so with impunity and full backing of your government.
Here are some excerpts form a great article at Media With Consciousness
Robert Kahre, the man who paid his workers in gold coins and silver coins, was convicted on all 57 counts of tax evasion…
Suppose a person owes one hundred dollars in income taxes to the IRS. Let’s say he has inherited 5 gold coins issued by the U.S. mint, each one having a face value of $20. Let’s assume that each gold coin weighs one ounce and that the person is able to sell the coin in the marketplace for one thousand paper dollars. That means that the person’s 5 gold coins have a value of 5 thousand paper dollars.Let’s assume that the person sends in his five $20 gold coins to the IRS, in payment of his one-hundred dollar tax bill. Will the IRS issue him a refund, representing the difference between the fair market value of the coins and the amount of the tax owed, i.e., 4,900 dollar bills?
Absolutely not. The IRS will say that the coins are legal tender at face value. They will keep the coins, sell them, and pocket the difference.
But as Kahre has demonstrated, the government’s representation that the gold coins are legal tender is false and fraudulent.
Here are additional articles on this