Critics Say Seattle’s Gun & Ammo Tax Intended To Kill Firearms Commerce

posted on May 26, 2016
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **

Seattle’s new tax on the Second Amendment—$25 on every firearm and 5 cents on every round of ammunition sold in the city—is intended not to raise money for “gun violence prevention” as its proponents claim, but to drive firearms and ammunition dealers either out of business or out of the city, critics say. 

Sergey Solyanik, who owns Precise Shooter, told MyNorthwest.com that he fought the new gun tax until it went into effect—on Jan. 1 of this year—but then moved his business out of Seattle. As a result, Solyanik said, Seattle will lose the $50,000 that his store paid in city sales taxes per year—and will not make a cent from its new gun and ammunition taxes from his business, either. 

Pro-gun groups have sued Seattle, arguing that its punitive taxes violate Washington state’s firearms pre-emption law, but so far they have been unsuccessful.

Latest

Holiday Gift Guide

The Trade Association for the Firearms Industry is Calling Out JPMorganChase

The CEO of JPMorganChase, Jamie Dimon, went on Fox News and claimed that JPMorganChase does not debank individuals, associations or corporations for ideological reasons. But the NSSF points out that Dimon has said different things before.

Gun Review | Rost Martin RM1C

I would like to introduce you to the Rost Martin RM1C—and yes, anyone familiar with the Glock 19 will immediately see its lineage. I nevertheless became intrigued by this gun, as I believe you might, thanks to some of its special features—and thanks to its price tag.

The NRA is Still Fighting for Our First Amendment Freedoms

Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of the NRA's argument in NRA v. Vullo, the decision sent the case back to a lower court, which ruled the offending government official had "qualified immunity." As a result, this case is ongoing.

Policing Should Not Be A Political Issue

Crime is a complicated topic, but there is an extremely simple rule that must be observed before one can begin to fight it effectively: One must genuinely wish to deal with the problem. Without such an elementary ambition, no amount of legislation, activity, taxpayer money or speechmaking will make the slightest bit of difference.

Gun-Control Group Inadvertently Admits Armed Citizens are Effective

The gun-control group Everytown inadvertently admitted that lawfully armed citizens stop a lot of crimes in America.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.