I have been avoiding The Trace, Bloomberg’s digital propaganda page, but I saw this mentioned over Weer’s and I had to butt in.
Next Wednesday, the Seattle city council will consider a new policy measure, a “gun violence tax,” that would add an excise of $25 to every firearm and five cents to each round of ammunition sold in the city. Funds raised in this manner would be dedicated to gun violence prevention and public health research. The city’s budget office projects the tax would raise between $300,000 and $500,000 per year.
Source: Seattle Proposes a Gun Tax That Could Make Wonks Swoon – The Trace
Click on Weer’s link for the math. I want to cover something else mentioned in the article:
The measure is what’s known as a Pigovian tax, named after early 20th century economist Arthur Pigou, and it’s the rare tax mechanism beloved by wonks across the political spectrum. Taxes like the proposed Seattle levy on guns and ammunition are like existing taxes on cigarettes or alcohol: They’re intended to disincentivize and defray the cost of harmful behavior.
Now, they are not charging that tax to the criminal element of the city (and I include the politicians in that lot), but to the law-abiding citizens that in no way or measure contribute to “gun violence.” It is like charging a multi-axle and excess weight highway fee to Motorcycle drivers; it simply does not make sense at face value.
But what it does (besides the immoral revenue collection) is to stamp ANY gun owner with the brand of criminal. Blaming Gun Owners for Seattle’s Government inability to curb crime (they seem to be more involved into smoking pot-laced tofu than facing reality) and come up with real solutions to the “gun violence” is hard. Instead they reach for the easy and failed faux solutions of the past.
Anyway, it seems that the policy will run afoul of Washington State’s pre-emption law. It should be interesting to see how it unfolds.
I don’t know the case law, but I believe the Supreme Court has held that a tax cannot be levied to discourage the exercise of a Constitutionally protected right. It originally applied to taxing newsprint to control newspapers, but I can’t see how it doesn’t hold here, as well. Especially since it is targeted towards the law-abiding.
Plus, it would be ineffective. Buyers would step outside the city limit to make their purchases.
Oh look, they’re trying to punish the people who are actually contributing to what they want with a law that has no effect whatsoever on the criminals.
Now where have I heard about that before?*
*DRM. It’s called video game DRM, and it’s one of the reasons EA and Ubisoft are in trouble right now.
They tried that in Cook County. Drove the Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates nearly out of business. People just went to the Bass Pro Shops in Bollingbrook or Gurnee Mills instead.
Wait! What? Increasing taxes DISCOURAGES that thing you are taxing? Huh? I thought that increasing income taxes on wages would have no impact on people working? Has it suddenly changed, and I missed the memo?