[ad_1]
Seattle’s so-called “gun violence tax” continues to fall far short of the promised returns. Recent figures show that while there was a slight bump in taxes collected, the only thing the tax succeeded in was driving constitutionally-protected gun businesses from the city limits.
The tax is in its fourth year and has yet to live up to expectations. In 2015, Seattle’s city council approved a $25 tax on every gun and 5 cents on each round of ammunition sold. The architects of the plan promised it would bring in $500,000 annually that would be used toward gun violence research at the city’s Harborview Medical Center.
Numbers Don’t Lie
It’s yet to even come close to that goal. Last year, the city collected $85,352, which is only $7,800 more than the $77,518 collected in 2018, according to a report from the Second Amendment Foundation. NSSF, along with SAF and NRA challenged the tax on state preemption grounds, but courts in Washington state upheld it. The three organizations knew the tax was actually a form of gun control, which can only be administered by the state and not municipalities. It also punishes law-abiding citizens for the criminal activities of others. NSSF predicted the tax would fail. Four years running, that’s held true.
The first that year tax figures were available was 2016, which saw just $103,766 collected. The next year, figures fell to $93,220 and 2018 saw them at just $77,518. This year’s collections report of $85,352 is a slight rise, but if the back-of-the-napkin math is correct, it is still short by $414,648 of what Seattle city council gun control politicians promised.
Net Effect
Here’s what the tax really did. It drove profitable gun businesses out of the city limits. Outdoor Emporium moved out of Seattle after the owner saw a loss of $2 million in revenue, a 32 percent decline in customer traffic and was forced to lay off three employees. Precise Shooter, another business that was located in Seattle, shuttered their store and opened up in nearby Lynnwood.
Bad ideas aren’t confined to Seattle. Nearby Tacoma picked it up for themselves too. Aero Precision, a firearm parts producer that employs 400 in Tacoma, spoke out against the regressive tax, but city officials pushed it through. The tax in that city was set to take effect in July, but a panel required to study Seattle’s tax wasn’t able to be formed due to the coronavirus restrictions. That plan was put on the shelf and with protests turning violent, it’s not looking like city officials there will be able to get it moving soon.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is no one who designed or approved this plan actually believed it would work. They knew a half-million dollars in tax revenue was a political pipe dream. The real goal was to send the message – and political punishment – to constitutionally-protected businesses that their commerce wasn’t welcome. They won’t admit they knew all along it wouldn’t raise anything close to their target tax goal. They won’t admit that Seattle has a crime problem, witnessed during the riots when a private security contractor rushed in with his own handgun to seize a stolen service rifle from a rioter that stole it from a burning police vehicle. They knew their promised research of so-called “gun violence” prevention was as sketchy as their plan to tax gun stores out of the city. They also knew that what they wanted weren’t real solutions®. They wanted gun control and political posturing.
Larry Keane is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association.
[ad_2]
Source link
115992 268453Hello. Neat post. There is an concern along with your web site in firefox, and you could want to test this The browser is the market chief and a big part of other folks will miss your great writing because of this dilemma. 20171
448814 620708Spot on with this write-up, I truly suppose this website needs a lot a lot more consideration. probably be once more to learn way a lot more, thanks for that info. 943584
375826 869477Merely wanna input on couple of common issues, The site style is perfect, the subject material is rattling superb : D. 432288
346464 864635Fantastic info a lot of thanks sharing and reaching us your subscriber list. 99080
265531 583840You got a really great site, Gladiola I discovered it by means of yahoo. 678556
844443 225670Really informative and great complex body part of articles , now thats user pleasant (:. 535412
9114 54298Hi! I discovered your internet site accidentally today, but am genuinely pleased that we did! Its not only entertaining, but in addition straightforward to make use of in contrast to lots that Ive viewed! 109901
532295 297203Some times its a discomfort in the ass to read what weblog owners wrote but this web site is quite user friendly ! . 274302
146714 584421Intriguing point of view. Im curious to think what type of impact this would have globally? Sometimes folks get just a little upset with global expansion. Ill be around soon to have a look at your response. 828659
84429 81263As soon as I located this internet internet site I went on reddit to share some with the love with them. 829159
371392 727400oh nicely, Alicia silverstone is matured nowadays but when she was still younger, she is the sex symbol of hollywood` 795230
762748 237240Hello, Neat post. There is an concern along together with your internet site in internet explorer, may possibly test thisK IE nonetheless could be the marketplace chief and a big section of men and women will pass over your superb writing due to this difficulty. 111231
257023 964718Spot on with this write-up, I truly assume this web site wants much much more consideration. probably be once again to read much a lot more, thanks for that information. 678983