Washington Democrats Propose Bullet Tax for ‘Privilege of Using Ammunition’

Washington state Democrats are proposing a bullet tax which they justify as being a tax on the “privilege of using ammunition.”

FOX News reported that the legislation, HB 2238, describes the ammunition tax as “a use tax.” It would be “levied on every person in [Washington state] for the privilege of using ammunition as a consumer at the rate of 11 percent of the selling price.”

The bill defines ammunition as “projectiles with their fuses, propelling charges, or primers designed to be fired from firearms. ‘Ammunition’ includes any shotgun shell and any rifle, pistol, or revolver cartridge.”

Microsoft Start noted that Washington Democrats are framing the tax as a way “decrease gun violence.” The Colorado Springs Gazette pointed out that the Democrat text of HB 2238 says the tax revenue “will go to programs that aim to prevent suicide and to reduce firearm-related domestic violence.”

HB 2238 has 15 Democrat sponsors.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a Turning Point USA Ambassador, and a pro-staffer for Sightmark. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.