Posted on 03/19/2018 11:16:52 AM PDT by Simon Green
(Assemblymember Jim Cooper wants to toss more taxes on gun and ammo buyers in California to help pay for school safety programs.)
A California lawmaker intends to gut and amend a bill on agriculture to apply an additional tax on firearms and ammunition to fund school programs.
The measure, AB 2497, was introduced last month as a minor tweak to California’s Agriculture Day but moving forward will morph into a proposal that would provide counselors and armed officers to schools. The funding for the initiative would come from an as yet to be determined tax rate on gun and ammo sales.
“Because of budget cuts, a lot of schools don’t have counselors,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, referencing the need to spot youth with issues that could escalate to violence. “This is a way to fund counselors and really identify these kids.”
Cooper says he hasn’t determined the tax rate in his proposal, but guns are already subject to a number of fees and taxes in the state. At the federal level, gun makers pay an 11 percent excise tax on guns and ammo to fund Pittman-Robertson Act requirements that go to pay for conservation programs.
In addition, a California retail sales tax of 7.25 percent is applied along with a special $25 DROS fee that goes to fund firearms warning labels and the state’s controversial gun seizure program. The California State Board of Equalization mandates taxes to be paid on guns sent to dealers from out-of-state retailers as well. The state also recently established controls on ammo sales which require licensing and a fee schedule of its own, a program that has gotten off to a rocky start.
Second Amendment groups point out state lawmakers are working to up taxes and fees on gun owners while at the same time looking to cut taxes on marijuana growers and users. Further, they argue the tax unfairly burdens the state’s 13 million gun owners.
“We are going to single out a particular group of law-abiding citizens, and we are going to require them to shoulder the burden that quite frankly all of us as taxpayers need to be meeting,” said Craig DeLuz, a spokesman with the Firearms Policy Coalition.
Cooper plans to introduced his modified agriculture bill in coming days
If I sold pictures of ammo, then included a “mystery gift” to the buyers,hmmmm.....
the lottery is supposed to pay for all school expenses - so are the indian casinos
so pay them or close them
Jim Cooper is just another jack-booted thug of an ex-cop who thinks that only cops should be allowed to have guns.
California school safety programs: Bigger “Gun Free Zone” signs.
More money to divert for Kim Jong Brown’s slow speed rail.
More money to divert for Kim Jong Brown’s slow speed rail.
Everyone with a living brain cell should unass California for a Red State. That should deny them most tax revenue.
Taxing commerce is one thing but paying a special tax to personally exercise your Constitutional 2nd Amendment right is clearly unconstitutional. Stupid effing libturds!
I’ll bet those Californians already have the guns they want; go to NV or OR/WA to buy ammo. Unless of course those states require ID and if you’re from CA, well then, too bad.
That’s the lie the politicians said when implementing the lottery/casino’s but it all goes into the general fund now and there’s no money for schools.
If Mexifornia is serious about taking in more revenue they should install turnstiles that require a 10 Peso coin at the busiest illegal border crossing points.
I don’t think this goes far enough, we need to TAX TV and Movie Productions for merely depicting a Dangerous Deadly Weapon. I propose a $1 Tax per Instance of the depiction of a Firearm, Per Showing! This could add up fast to big bucks.
Will the last conservative to leave California, please turn out the lights. The way I am going, that may be me. I keep saying, “2 more years...”.
I guess the easiest thing for them would be if they have relatives in border states is to use their address to buy ammunition. I wonder if those aggie border stations will ask if you’re bringing in ammunition and search your car.
Keep going California, you’ll soon be
on par with Illinois....huge market
for illicit ammo and arms.
We’re I a resident of California, and
a gun owner, I’d start looking at
purchasing reloading equipment. No
exorbitant taxes or restrictions
applied, as of yet.
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