In 2015, the city of Seattle levied a whopping $25 tax on every gun sold within city limits. In addition, it piled on another nickel per every round of ammunition sold. At the time, the city claimed the tax would raise $500,000 for “gun violence prevention programs,” but some gun stores moved beyond the city limits to avoid paying it.
Now, KING 5 TV reports that the city is refusing to reveal just how much revenue was raised by the tax. Their excuse? There are too few taxpayers, and releasing the information would violate their confidentiality.
How can the public judge the effectiveness of such punitive tax policies if the city won’t tell them how much money has been raised? At what levels will these supposed efforts to fight “gun violence” be funded?
“They didn’t get any revenue from the tax,” says Sergey Solyanik, who moved his business, Precise Shooter, to Lynnwood. “They’re afraid this will come out and become public.”
