Dem Reps Sponsor Bill for 20 Percent Tax on Handguns

Representative Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) are sponsoring legislation which amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include a 20 percent tax on handguns–“pistols [and] revolvers”–as well as a 50 percent tax on “shells and cartridges.” 

The bill is H.R. 3018 and it is titled the “Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2013.” 

News 12 New Jersey reports that Pascrell believes a new tax on handguns “has been a long time coming.” In announcing the legislation on August 21, Pascrell said, “The tax on handguns was last increased in 1955. Worse yet, the tax rate on ammunition and other types of firearms has remained the same since 1941.”

The bill is designed to bring in revenue from gun and ammo sales to help cover police costs around the country. An estimated $600 million a year would be provided if the bill went into effect. 

Besides taxing “pistols [and] revolvers” the bill also contains language indicating a proposed 20 percent tax on firearms “other than pistols and revolvers.”

The tax would be placed on firearms at the time of “sale by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.” If implemented, this legislation will drive firearm and ammunition prices through the roof. 

AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins