Tacoma City Council approves taxes on guns and ammunition

Posted on November 14, 2019 by DCG 

Tacoma Councilmember Ryan Mello

The city modeled this tax after the Seattle gun tax which was designed to “improve gun safety.”

How’d that work out for Seattle? Well, Seattle has seen a 16 percent increase in aggravated assaults involving a firearm compared to the same periods in 2017 and 2018.

So without valid evidence that this gun and ammo tax actually decreases gun violence, Tacoma decided to

implement it anyway.

Q13 Fox reports that the Tacoma City Council unanimously approved this new tax which includes a $25 tax on firearm purchases. Ammunition will be taxed at 2 cents per round for .22 caliber or less and 5 cents per round for all other ammunition. For those who like to shoot at the range, that will add up pretty quickly in a months’ worth of practice.

Council member Ryan Mello, inflicted with TDS, proposed the new tax. That’s because Tacoma is also experiencing an increase in gun violence this year. So of course the councilmember looked to punish law-abiding gun ownerspolicy to solve gun violence.

Just because a gun and ammo tax in Seattle didn’t do anything to decrease gun violence doesn’t mean it won’t work in Tacoma, right?

DCG