This was on one of my tax services this morning. Another "back door" approach to gun control.
Rep. Danny Davis Proposes Higher Taxes
On Firearms, Ammo to Slow Gun Violence
Pointed Handgun
By Aaron E. Lorenzo
Looking to the tax code as an avenue to help curb gun violence, Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) introduced legislation Aug. 2 to raise taxes on firearms.
His bill (H.R. 3018) would essentially double excise taxes on pistols, revolvers, and firearms; raise ammunition taxes by a multiple of five; apply taxes to a broader swath of guns; and increase special occupational taxes and transfer taxes. The higher excise taxes included in the measure would raise about $600 million in new annual revenue, and the funds would be used for violence-prevention efforts, improved gun law enforcement, and gun violence research.
Davis, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the legislation represents an attempt to use taxes to make weapons more costly and therefore possibly slow purchases. It follows public health models that have applied higher cigarette taxes to help rein in tobacco use.
We've been looking at that possibility as one way of getting certain kinds of weaponry out of the hands of some people, David told BNA Aug. 5 in a phone interview from his district office in Chicago.
Lawmakers' annual summer recess began after they adjourned Aug. 2.
Higher Excise, Occupational, Transfer Taxes
Davis's legislation would raise a range of taxes. Among them, it would increase excise taxes that manufacturers pay on pistols and revolvers from 10 percent to 20 percent, raise the excise tax on firearms from 11 percent to 20 percent, and increase excise taxes on shells and cartridges from 11 percent to 50 percent.
It would also apply a 20 percent tax on manufacturers for the lower frame or receiver of assault-type weapons designed to accommodate interchangeable upper receivers; such firearms' bifurcated assembly currently allows them to escape excise taxes.
In addition, the bill would double the current special occupational tax on importers, manufacturers, and firearms dealers from $500 to $1,000 or from $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the level of their receipts. The increase was based on inflation since 1988, the last time special occupational taxes were raised.
Transfer taxes on firearms covered under the National Firearms Act, which includes non-handguns such as rifles, machine guns, and shotguns, would rise to $500, from the $200 set in 1934. The fee would then be indexed to inflation after enactment.
One of Multiple Approaches Against Guns
The legislation would also expand the firearm definition used in the National Firearms Act to regulate pistol versions of guns such as the AR-15which was used in the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and the movie theater in Aurora, Colo.and the AK-47.
Davis conceded that higher taxes on gun sales would not keep weapons from falling into the hands of criminals all the time. Any single attempt to do that should be complemented by additional anti-gun violence measures, he said.
I don't think there's any one [solution], Davis said. But I do think that if it makes it more difficult, then fewer people are going to be able to obtain [guns].
The legislation has one co-sponsor, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). It was referred to the Ways and Means, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce committees.
Backers beyond Congress include the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Violence Policy Center, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Council of the Great City Schools, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
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Rep. Danny Davis Proposes Higher Taxes
On Firearms, Ammo to Slow Gun Violence
Pointed Handgun
By Aaron E. Lorenzo
Looking to the tax code as an avenue to help curb gun violence, Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) introduced legislation Aug. 2 to raise taxes on firearms.
His bill (H.R. 3018) would essentially double excise taxes on pistols, revolvers, and firearms; raise ammunition taxes by a multiple of five; apply taxes to a broader swath of guns; and increase special occupational taxes and transfer taxes. The higher excise taxes included in the measure would raise about $600 million in new annual revenue, and the funds would be used for violence-prevention efforts, improved gun law enforcement, and gun violence research.
Davis, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the legislation represents an attempt to use taxes to make weapons more costly and therefore possibly slow purchases. It follows public health models that have applied higher cigarette taxes to help rein in tobacco use.
We've been looking at that possibility as one way of getting certain kinds of weaponry out of the hands of some people, David told BNA Aug. 5 in a phone interview from his district office in Chicago.
Lawmakers' annual summer recess began after they adjourned Aug. 2.
Higher Excise, Occupational, Transfer Taxes
Davis's legislation would raise a range of taxes. Among them, it would increase excise taxes that manufacturers pay on pistols and revolvers from 10 percent to 20 percent, raise the excise tax on firearms from 11 percent to 20 percent, and increase excise taxes on shells and cartridges from 11 percent to 50 percent.
It would also apply a 20 percent tax on manufacturers for the lower frame or receiver of assault-type weapons designed to accommodate interchangeable upper receivers; such firearms' bifurcated assembly currently allows them to escape excise taxes.
In addition, the bill would double the current special occupational tax on importers, manufacturers, and firearms dealers from $500 to $1,000 or from $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the level of their receipts. The increase was based on inflation since 1988, the last time special occupational taxes were raised.
Transfer taxes on firearms covered under the National Firearms Act, which includes non-handguns such as rifles, machine guns, and shotguns, would rise to $500, from the $200 set in 1934. The fee would then be indexed to inflation after enactment.
One of Multiple Approaches Against Guns
The legislation would also expand the firearm definition used in the National Firearms Act to regulate pistol versions of guns such as the AR-15which was used in the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and the movie theater in Aurora, Colo.and the AK-47.
Davis conceded that higher taxes on gun sales would not keep weapons from falling into the hands of criminals all the time. Any single attempt to do that should be complemented by additional anti-gun violence measures, he said.
I don't think there's any one [solution], Davis said. But I do think that if it makes it more difficult, then fewer people are going to be able to obtain [guns].
The legislation has one co-sponsor, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). It was referred to the Ways and Means, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce committees.
Backers beyond Congress include the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Violence Policy Center, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Council of the Great City Schools, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
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