Why not? Gun buyers don't seem to pay the outrageous prices charged by dealers and ammo sellers based upon fear, so why not create a tax on sales to educate the public on *gun safety*, pay for buyback programs, provide help to victims of gun violence, etc?
$25 per gun sounds good to me. How about $10 a box of ammo?
Some states and counties are studying whether to tax gun and ammunition purchases. Supporters hope to discourage gun violence or pay for damage it causes.
$25 per gun sounds good to me. How about $10 a box of ammo?
Some states and counties are studying whether to tax gun and ammunition purchases. Supporters hope to discourage gun violence or pay for damage it causes.
CHICAGO — Cook County, Ill., this month began collecting a $25 tax on gun purchases, and at least six states are considering new taxes on firearms or ammunition as a way to help pay for the consequences of gun violence.
The Cook County tax applies to purchases in Chicago's suburbs, but not the city. The tax is expected to raise $600,000 a year, which will help pay for indigent gunshot victims' medical care at county-run Stroger Hospital.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, a Democrat, says 30% of the hospital's trauma patients have gunshot wounds and it costs about $52,000 for initial treatment for each. The tax won't necessarily serve as a deterrent to gun buyers, she says, but "it's an acknowledgment that we as a society pay a terrible price for the proliferation of guns."
A group of gun sellers and owners sued to block the gun tax, saying it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Circuit Court Judge David Atkins denied a temporary restraining order, saying the lawsuit didn't show "that this right is threatened by the tax."
Gun and ammunition purchases are subject to local sales taxes, and manufacturers pay a federal excise tax — 10% for pistols and revolvers, 11% for other guns, shells and cartridges — that funds wildlife programs.