Nevada Considers Tax on Guns, Ammunition
- Mar 13, 2013 | Gail Cole
On Monday, Nevada lawmakers were introduced to a bill that would tax sales of ammunition and guns.
AB 234 would:
- Require background checks before a firearm is transferred to another person, under certain circumstances;
- Prohibit the possession of certain bullets, projectiles or ammunition;
- Impose a tax on firearms dealers "for the privilege of selling firearms and ammunition to consumers;" and
- Create the Fund for Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness.
The measure proposes the imposition of an excise tax of $25 for each firearm and 2 cents for each round of ammunition sold. Since it includes a tax increase, AB 234 would need to be approved by a supermajority in order to become law.
Half of the revenue generated by the proposed tax would go towards the Fund for Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness. The other half would go to the Fund for the Compensation of Victims of Crime.
Assembly Majority Leader William Horne (D-Las Vegas), who introduced the bill, "said he did not know how much revenue the tax would generate because state officials don't track that information."
Nevada is not the only state to consider controlling gun violence through taxation. New York has considered taxing bullets in the past, and California lawmakers are currently weighing that option. Come April 1, 2013, sales of firearms will be subject to a $25 tax in Cook County, Illinois.
AB 234 may find support among Nevada lawmakers, but so might AB 232, also introduced Monday. AB 232 would remove the prohibition against carrying a concealed firearm.
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