A not so shocking result to Seattle's bullet and gun tax.
Via Breitbart:
On January 1, Seattle implemented a violence tax which is added to the cost of every gun and bullet sold at retail in city limits. And just over 10 months later, one of the most prominent gun stores in the city is laying off employees and has already “taken a $2 million hit in sales so far in 2016.”
Breitbart News previously reported that the violence tax places a five-cent tax on every bullet sold within city limits and a $25 tax on every gun. The tax was pushed by City Council president Tim Burgess and passed by the Seattle City Council on August 10, 2015. Seattlepi reports that Mike Coombs, the owner of Sodo’s Outdoor Emporium, is now watching his business decline.
In addition to the $2 million loss in sales, Coombs has seen his “customer count” tumble by 32 percent during 2016. At the same time, Seattle residents are going outside city limits to buy the guns and ammunition they need.
When Burgess first introduced the tax, he claimed it would offset the expense of caring for gunshot victims. He pointed to healthcare costs in 2014 as a justification for forcing the gun industry to pay its fair share.
But Breitbart News was quick to point out that Burgess missed the point: He failed to consider the fact that the tax would not be paid by gun or ammo makers but by law-abiding citizens purchasing guns and ammo at retail outlets. Now gun store employees are losing their jobs.
Read more here.
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