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Seattle gun tax revenue falls way short

Dave Workman

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May 23, 2007
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Oh, gasp! :banghead:

Seattle Gun Tax Revenue Falls Far Short of 2015 Prediction

More than a year after the Seattle City Council rushed through a “gun violence tax” on the sale of firearms and ammunition, the city revealed Tuesday that its first-year revenues had fallen far short of the projected $300,000 to $500,000, but offered only a general figure of “less than $200,000.”
How much less? The city won’t say.

http://libertyparkpress.com/seattle-gun-tax-revenue-falls-far-short-of-2015-prediction/
 
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countryclubjoe

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Mar 3, 2013
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nj
A gun violence tax,,, wow, the G is basically feeding the poor and under privileged to the vile animals roaming the neighborhood in search of unarmed prey... And hitherto I always believed that Governments were formed to protect law abiding folks and said folks, life, liberty and property...

We must stop being naive...


My .02
Regards
CCJ
 

OC for ME

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Budget items and tax revenues are supposed to be public knowledge. Research their financial disclosures and the answer should be made apparent.
 

mikeyb

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Feb 19, 2013
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Budget items and tax revenues are supposed to be public knowledge. Research their financial disclosures and the answer should be made apparent.

Oh, like the government follows the rules.

http://www.king5.com/news/politics/seattle-refuses-to-release-gun-tax-revenue/422934449
The city has blocked any attempt to get the revenue numbers.
“Consistent with the Public Records Act and the Seattle Municipal Code, the City will not release this tax information, even in the aggregate, while there are too few taxpayers or if there are other circumstances that would result in the disclosure of confidential tax information, such as a small number of taxpayers with a single taxpayer paying a large percentage of the aggregate figure,” Julie Moore, spokesperson for the Office of Finance, said in part in a reply. “With all returns received for 2016, this is the situation we are in.
“Tax return documents themselves are fully exempt from public disclosure. Additionally, taxpayer information is protected from disclosure per the Seattle Municipal Code, 5.55.200 ‘Public Disclosure– Confidentiality – Information sharing,’ which complies with state law, including RCW 42.56.230 (Section 4), ‘Taxpayer information is exempt from public inspection.’”

What a bunch of malarkey. We don't want taxpayer information. The amount of revenue can't identify anyone's business earnings. Gun stores, surprisingly, sell more than just guns and ammo. So, Seattle, what the hell is the revenue?!

If Seattle gun shops account for just .5% of estimated WA gun sales- at 57,000 background checks per month in WA- that is 285 guns sold per month; or 3420 per year. That's $85,500/year. And this is really rough numbers, as the background checks are statewide and don't include fails.

So that's just gun sales. Ammo? $2.50 increase per box? Pfft. I bet people only bought ammo in Seattle as an absolute last resort and don't know about the Internet.
 
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amlevin

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Feb 16, 2007
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Oh, like the government follows the rules.

http://www.king5.com/news/politics/seattle-refuses-to-release-gun-tax-revenue/422934449


What a bunch of malarkey. We don't want taxpayer information. The amount of revenue can't identify anyone's business earnings. Gun stores, surprisingly, sell more than just guns and ammo. So, Seattle, what the hell is the revenue?!

If Seattle gun shops account for just .5% of estimated WA gun sales- at 57,000 background checks per month in WA- that is 285 guns sold per month; or 3420 per year. That's $85,500/year. And this is really rough numbers, as the background checks are statewide and don't include fails.

So that's just gun sales. Ammo? $2.50 increase per box? Pfft. I bet people only bought ammo in Seattle as an absolute last resort and don't know about the Internet.

True that Gun Stores sell more than just Guns and Ammo but the gun and ammo tax is reported separately.

Seattle truly does have a catch 22 situation but it is of their own making. The tax has driven gun stores from Seattle thus decreasing the number of businesses reporting and paying the tax.

Doesn't take a real genius to figure out that a tax paid by only one or two stores is pretty easy to figure out who paid it.

Yes, Seattle is pushing this privacy issue because they don't want the public humiliation associated with the failed revenue promise. Just remember, it's Seattle. A city that continues to prosper in spite of the incredible stupidity in City Hall.
 

mikeyb

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Feb 19, 2013
Messages
554
Location
Bothell
I wonder if anyone is contacting the FFLs in Seattle. If there are so few in Seattle, it shouldn't be hard to come up with a list of dealers. From there, contact the dealers and ask them to provide a "less than" number that they paid for the tax.

While the FFL probably will be reluctant to provide the information, it would be in their best interest to reveal a ballpark number that we can aggregate and let the press run with that number.

If we the people don't have the information, we can't fight city hall, right? If this "big tax revenue opportunity" is smoke and mirrors and only a punitive punishment, then that's ammo for a successful lawsuit. The Seattle ordinance directly violates RCW 9.41.300:
[FONT=&quot](3)(a) Cities, towns, and counties may enact ordinances restricting the areas in their respective jurisdictions in which firearms may be sold, but, except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a business selling firearms may not be treated more restrictively than other businesses located within the same zone. An ordinance requiring the cessation of business within a zone shall not have a shorter grandfather period for businesses selling firearms than for any other businesses within the zone.[/FONT]

Are fast food restaurants being taxed $.25 for fries, since fatty foods have been known to cause heart disease, one of the leading causes of death in the US, according to the CDC. Or a soda tax, for causing all those type-2 diabetes cases and helping diabetes become a top-10 cause of death in the US?

Maybe if more people could have affordable access to firearms and ammo, they can defend themselves from crime(s), like forcible rape and sexual assault.
 
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