Washington: Tacoma City Council to Vote on Proposed Gun Tax

On Tuesday, October 29^th, the Tacoma City Council is scheduled to hold a Final Reading and vote on a proposed ordinance to tax the purchase of firearms and ammunition. Additionally, the City Council is considering an amendment to exempt manufacturers from this tax scheme, leaving local gun store owners and their law-abiding patrons to the foot the bill.

All NRA members and Second Amendment supporters that reside in Tacoma are encouraged to attend the City Council Meeting. Details may be found here and below.

October 29^th at 5:00PM
Tacoma Municipal Building, Council Chambers
747 Market Street
Tacoma, WA 98402

Additionally, please contact members of the Council directly here:

This $25 per firearm and $0.05 per cartridge of ammunition tax, proposed by Council Member Ryan Mello, is similar to a 2015 tax scheme the NRA strongly opposed in Seattle. These firearm and ammunition taxes never deliver on the promise of increasing public safety and funding “gun violence programs and research.” After the implementation of the tax in Seattle, shooting crimes did not decrease—in fact, the Seattle Police Department confirmed that shooting crimes actually increased. Nor did the tax generate nearly the amount of revenue that politicians projected. In short: Seattle’s “gun violence tax” was followed by more violent crime and less revenue, a disaster that Tacoma’s politicians are trying to repeat.

Last week, Tacoma City Council analysts projected the proposed tax could raise an estimated $30,000 annually. This assumes all local gun stores are able to stay in business and manufacturers are not exempted. This, unfortunately, would not be the reality. Following the adoption of the Seattle tax ordinance, local gun stores were forced to shut down or relocate due to the high expense of operating under the new taxes. With a reported cost of $10,000-15,000 to set up the initial tax scheme, followed by an additional unknown amount to operate annually, it’s unclear whether this proposal will actually raise any funds for the purported purpose of reducing “gun violence” in Tacoma. Still, Council Member Mello insists on pursuing this anti-gun agenda that, if enacted, only serves to serves to punish law-abiding gun owners and retailers in Tacoma while doing nothing to impact crime.

Again, NRA members are encouraged to attend the City Council to voice your opposition to this proposal. Please also contact Council members using the Take Action button above. Your NRA and partner organizations continue to work in opposition to this proposal, so please stay tuned to your email inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates.