From the S-1 for GLD, the new ETF for gold bullion:
INVESTMENT BY CERTAIN RETIREMENT PLANS
Anyone considering the purchase of Shares as an investment for an individual retirement account (IRA), or for a participant-directed account maintained under any plan that is tax-qualified under section 401(a) of the Code, should consider the potential application of Code section 408(m) to such investment. Under section 408(m), the acquisition of a "collectible" by an account described in the preceding sentence is treated as a taxable distribution from the account to the owner of the IRA, or to the participant for whom the plan account is maintained, of an amount equal to the cost to the account of acquiring the collectible. Under the definition of the term "collectible" in section 408(m)(2), gold bullion would be treated as a collectible unless an exception from such treatment provided in section 408(m)(3) were to apply. Under current law it is uncertain (a) whether an account's purchase of Shares would be treated, for purposes of section 408(m), as the acquisition of an interest in the underlying gold bullion held in the Trust, or (b) if it were so treated, whether the conditions for the exception from treatment as a collectible under section 408(m)(3) would be met in connection with an account's purchase of Shares. The Sponsor has applied to the IRS for a private letter ruling to the effect that the purchase of Shares by an IRA or a participant-directed qualified plan account will not be treated as an acquisition by the account of a "collectible" for purposes of Code section 408(m). However, unless and until the IRS issues such a ruling, there can be no assurance that the purchase of Shares by an IRA, or by a participant-directed account under a Code section 401(a) plan, would not be treated as resulting in a taxable distribution to the IRA owner or plan participant.
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