A new proposal in New York is doom and gloom for anyone looking to buy ammo in the state.
The legislation, Senate Bill S8415, would add a 5-cent tax on every round of ammunition. The bill is being sponsored by state sen. Andrew Gounardes and comes with a few additional caveats.
The 5-cent tax per round only applies to ammunition in calibers larger than .22. .22 caliber ammunition and small rounds will have a 2-cent tax instead.
Senate Bill S8415 will drive the revenue from this tax to fund New York’s “Gun Violence Research Fund”.
This fund is for the University of New York State and the New York Department of Health, these groups are only to use the funds for gun violence research.
As reported on Guns.com:
By community, the Brooklyn Democrat means the New York Department of Health and the State University of New York who are authorized to draw from the fund for research into gun crime as a “public health crisis.” While findings in support of more gun control are not a stated pre-formed conclusion of the research, the law to establish the fund last summer was backed by anti-gun groups including New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Gays Against Guns, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, the Brady Campaign, “and countless partners in government including fellow members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.”
Guns and ammunition are already one of the most taxed and regulated retail goods in the country. Since 1937, the Pittman–Robertson Act levies a 10-to-11 percent excise tax on all firearms and ammunition sold or imported into the county to perform conservation-related tasks as varied as restoring elk habitat, funding safety programs, and establishing public shooting ranges. Since its induction, the firearm industry has paid a whopping $14.1 billion into the fund via the mandatory taxes.
Besides the Pittman-Robertson taxes which are already factored into the price of ammunition, each box sold in New York also currently has a sales tax added on, which can be as high as 8.875 percent depending on locality.
