Many people also appreciate gold in the respect that you can buy the precious metal to a certain extent completely anonymously. However, anyone who decides to invest money in the form of physical gold must also think about the storage of their physical assets. For people who value privacy, one option for storage will be eliminated in the future.
Anonymous gold purchase in Austria still up to 10,000 euros
Currently, it is possible to buy gold and other precious metals up to an equivalent value of 10,000 euros completely anonymously in Austria. This is an option that customers who want to secure their assets with gold and silver without being under the supervision of the state are happy to take advantage of.
For transactions over 10,000 euros, the gold dealer is required by law to record the data of the customer when buying gold, to store it and to make it available in the event of an official request, such as a house search warrant or similar.
In many other EU countries, on the other hand, the limit for such table transactions is already significantly lower. In Germany, for example, anonymous gold purchases have only been possible up to a limit of 2,000 euros since January 1, 2020. In Italy, the limit for the use of cash was even lowered from 3,000 to 2,000 euros in July 2020, in France it is 1,000 euros and in Greece only 500 euros.
Data collection of safe deposit boxes with 1.1.2021
While there are no signs so far in Austria that the anonymity threshold for the purchase of investment gold will fall, anonymity is falling in another area.
From January 1, 2021, previously anonymous safe deposit boxes must be entered in the general account register. Not only banks, but also commercial providers must report their safe deposit boxes to the account register.
In doing so, Austria is transposing the requirements of the EU's 5th Money Laundering Directive into national law. The amendment to the KontRegG also expands the circle of authorities that have access to this register.
Store gold at home
If you decide to store the gold at home, you can either choose to hide it well and safely or invest in a good safe.
Read here what options there are to store gold safely.
Both variants have their advantages and disadvantages. What makes sense for you personally varies greatly from person to person. We will be happy to advise you on this topic as well.