IRTA�s Ron Whitney Clears Up Barter Confusion With Press Release
The executive director of the International Reciprocal Trade
Association, Ron Whitney, recently sent out the following press
release to inform the business community about trade exchanges and
how they differ from a recent case in North Carolina that has caused
some confusion about barter:
�Trade Dollars used in modern trade and barter transactions among
businesses participating in barter exchanges are a legal and robust
form of commerce in America," said Ron Whitney, Executive Director
of the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA).
�Recent news stories suggesting that the Liberty Dollars verdict is
a signal that the U.S. Government is against private barter
currencies are categorically incorrect and ignore the facts of the
case.�
The U.S. organized barter industry was officially sanctioned by the
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) of 1982 and signed
by President Reagan.
Recent media reports about Bernard vonNotHaus, who is awaiting
federal sentencing in North Carolina, seem to have caused confusion
about barter. VonNotHaus, was recently found guilty of making coins
resembling and similar to United States coins; of issuing, passing,
selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; of issuing and passing
Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and of
conspiracy against the United States.
Numerous organizations have experimented with local currency, but
federal laws restrict them from resembling U.S. bills or from being
passed off as money printed by the federal government, which
vonNotHaus� coinage resembled.
Charlotte-based lawyer Aaron Michel, who is appealing the
conviction, attempted in Federal District Court to portray
vonNotHaus� private coinage as a form of private voluntary barter
currency. He argued Liberty Dollars were a means to help keep
currency in local communities by creating networks of merchants and
consumers who used the money.
�Recent news stories suggesting that the Liberty Dollars verdict is
a signal that the government is against private barter currencies
are categorically incorrect and ignore the facts of the case,�
explained Whitney. �The government rejected any comparison of
vonNotHaus counterfeiting activities with legitimate barter
currencies.�
As the government stated in its U.S. District Court Brief of April
7, 2011, �The defendant was not operating a private currency barter
system, rather he was counterfeiting United States coins and using
deceptive means to inject them into the flow of current money to
defraud the public.� These arguments clearly substantiate the
legality and validity of the modern trade and barter industry.
For more information go to
www.irta.com
or phone Ron Whitney at 757-393-2292.