Lawmakers Seek to Sock Gun, Ammo Buyers with New Taxes

Democrats in Connecticut and Illinois are proposing legislation that would add taxes ranging from 10 to 35 percent on gun and ammo sales

In the Constitution State, Connecticut state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, is backing House Bill 5040 which would add a 35 percent per round excise tax on ammunition. The move is a scaled-down version of a similar measure she introduced last year that sought a 50 percent bump in ammo prices. The tax money levied would go to “increase funding for gun violence prevention and reduction efforts.”

State gun rights groups have slammed the proposal.

“Clearly if such a law were passed, it would make practicing and maintaining proficiency with a firearm more difficult and will impact lower-income gun owners disproportionately,” said the Connecticut Citizens Defense League in a statement.

Illinois gun tax

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lincoln, state Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, is sponsoring Senate Bill 2468 to mandate a 10 percent retail sales tax on guns she terms “assault weapons” as well as magazines capable of more than 10 cartridges. The revenue would be funneled into a fund to “prevent gun violence in schools and State-owned buildings.”

As in Connecticut, state gun rights advocates, vowing litigation if such a measure becomes law, argue the tax would impact most guns.

“Every modern handgun that’s not a revolver or a Derringer comes into play,” Todd Vandermyde with the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, told the Telegraph.

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