gun tax money change
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A slightly watered-down version of Colorado Democrats’ onerous gun tax bill was approved on Monday by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The version of HB 24-1349 passed by the committee would levy a 6.5% tax on the sale of all firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition in the state. The original measure proposed a 9% tax, but that number was amended in the Appropriations Committee.

Authors of the legislation seem to feel like it is the duty of lawful gun owners and law-abiding gun purchasers to fund programs that help victims of violent crime. In fact, the measure states: Colorado needs consistent and reliable funding from the state to sustain the services crime victims depend on, including wraparound services, housing assistance, legal advocacy, emergency shelter, long-term safe housing, case management, on-site crisis response, emergency financial assistance, counseling and more.”

One of the biggest problems with the measure is that it is kind of a “sin tax,” although aimed at those who have committed no “sin,” in this case violent crime. Since the tax is levied at the manufacturer and retailer level, it will be passed on to the consumer as a higher price to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer.

However, since those purchasing guns will undergo a federal background check proving they are not criminals, proven law-abiding Colorado citizens will be paying the additional fee to take care of crime victims. In the meantime, the criminals who harmed those victims will continue to get their guns on the street or by stealing them, thereby not helping foot the bill to protect the victims they created.

Of course, a federal excise tax of 11% has been collected on gun sales by the federal government for decades, with proceeds doled out to state wildlife agencies for conservation projects. Promoters of the bill try to compare the new tax measure to that tax, with the measure stating: “This act will similarly place a reasonable state surtax on firearm and ammunition industry members that profit from the sale of firearms and ammunition in order to generate a sustained revenue for programs that are designed to remediate the devastating impacts of these products on families and communities across the state.”

Such a statement, of course, blames violent crime on guns and ammunition, not on violent criminals who prey on the law abiding. Colorado Democrats, as in many states, are hesitant to blame criminals for their illegal misdeeds since it could negatively affect those politicians’ re-election chances.

In the end, the proposal is nothing more than an assault on lawful gun owners, law-abiding prospective gun buyers and the Second Amendment. The measure now heads to the full Senate for consideration, which is controlled by the Democrats.

If passed by the Colorado legislature and signed by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, the proposal will go on the ballot for voter approval in November.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Are all the people who celebrate the Pittman-Robertson Act tax also going to celebrate this tax? 😉
    After all, the money goes to a good cause. We all want crime victims to get all the help they can.

    • Sure but I would imagine CO FFLs will be processing a bit more transfer fees than sales of firearms depending on what CO residents are allowed to purchase out of state.

      • Well, since it appears that the AWB is dead for this session due to a lack of scheduling the bill and the session ending tomorrow, I would imagine that general transfers won’t change that much.

        The retail part of this tax will, mostly, go unpaid. LGS’s are not stupid. The new thing is to charge $0.01 for the gun and the balance of the value “for the box” the firearm comes in. The big box stores, well we’ll see. They may not care but without the AWB to put all their competition out of business places like Cabela’s won’t do much business when the smaller stores can get what you want 6.5% cheaper.

        The more concerning parts of this legislative session were the “reform” of CCW and the “sensitive spaces” bills, both of which passed.

        The combination of the two is, IMHO, designed to suppress the number of CCWs out there. Even if that’s not the intent it’s pretty well certain to be the outcome.

        The “spaces” bill makes a CCW pretty much pointless by essentially declaring the entire state to be a sensitive space and therefore banning CCW in it. Meanwhile, the CCW “reform” bill requires complete retraining (now longer and more expensive, er… I mean, new and improved!) every two years.

        There’s little point in paying $150-$200/year, or more, a year for a permit you basically can’t use and if you do it’s a large legal liability. Then there’s the two days of your life every two years that you won’t get back.

        These are things that 2A folks just kind of have to hope RMGO and FPC can sink in court because the modern GOP won’t change any of this back to the way it was. Any time they get actual prodding to, you know, take a Conservative position, they mostly just leave. (Looking at you, Ken Buck.)

        Not that this is any different from the national level where goodly portions of the GOP have come down as being against both the 1A and the 4A in recent weeks…

        • The FFL will be paying the additional tax assessed when transferred from the wholesaler, not the consumer, although that cost will be folded into the cost of the firearm. So charging a small fee for the firearm and a big fee for the box won’t work.

          • *rubs temples* Um… what?

            “…Since the tax is levied at the manufacturer and retailer level” That’s 6.5% compounded. Once to the wholesaler and again at retail.

            Have you never heard of a VAT? That’s what this is. It’s meant to put an LGS out of business by making them as competitive as a European clothing company selling wares in London via a compounding interest rate.

            A gun’s $500 from the wholesaler, plus this 6.5% tax.

            $500 x 1.065 = $532.50. That extra $32.50 is unavoidable. It comes along with the gun. Can’t fix that.

            Now, applicable sales tax (varies by location) applies to whatever you do.

            Say you’re doing this in Adams County, which has total sales tax of 7%. 13.5% overall. $532.50 x 1.135 = $604.39

            But if we charge $0.01 for the gun and $532.49 for the

            By charging for the box, however we get $532.50 x 1.07 = $569.78. A difference of $34.61.

            In Weld county, the sales tax is 2.90. Run that again.

            $532.50 x 1.029 = $547.92
            $532.50 x 1.094 = $582.56

            Dealer saved you $34.64.

            I’m not sure how this is hard to figure out.

    • I will now assume that you are comfortable with the entire wild animal population in the USA be hunted to extinction.

      The three L’s destroy everything. By perverting the good.

      • I think you are being a little overly dramatic. Maybe, just maybe, our regular sales tax, property tax, or income tax could possibly be used for conservation. 😉

    • No, they’ll find some excuse for why imposing at tax on a Constitutional right is acceptable because they like where the money goes.

      “Precedent” isn’t a word such people generally consider.

      • The “precedent” in Illinoisistan for tax monies collected is that it goes to line the pockets of the scum politicians. Been that way since December 1818 when statehood was conferred. Those politicians thought they were just getting an innocent Christmas present, they didn’t know no nuthin about a precedent.

        • It has long impressed me how some states can have a widely known/accepted reputation for corruption and yet nothing is done about it.

          While it may be difficult for the state’s residents to undo from the inside since corruption is often self-reinforcing the Feds could do it if they cared.

          Illinois has had such a reputation for at least a century, which tells you that something on the order of nine Republican Presidents didn’t give enough of a shit to send their DOJ after these states in a meaningful way.

          • For what ever reason. The path to the presidency was through Chicago. The mob got Kennedy elected. Stole the election. And Nixon lost. But he never contested the results in public.

            I think there comes a point in a city or state that the corruption is just to deeply entrenched. California has become that.I think because of demographic changes.

            And now, unfortunately, colorado is headed in that direction for the same reasons.

  3. Why tax the innocent? Because seizing the assets of the guilty is too hard and may be “rayciss” too?

    • RE: “This act will similarly place a reasonable state surtax on firearm and ammunition industry members that profit from the sale of firearms and ammunition in order to generate a sustained revenue for programs that are designed to “”remediate the devastating impacts of these products on families and communities across the state.””

      RE: “Why tax the innocent? Because seizing the assets of the guilty is too hard and may be “rayciss” too?”

      Why? Because it all circles back to politically inept gun talking blowbags who failed to set border walls between criminal acts and the Second Amendment. They allowed the Second Amendment and criminals to be handcuffed together. You are reading the results of dumbfuk gun owners who squeal like stuck pigs over nothing and sweep what matters under the carpet.

      Criminals are part of the criminal justice system. The Second Amendment is part of the United States Constitution…The fuking difference is night and day.

  4. California passed this tax first; it is 11% and goes into effect July 1.
    These taxes are a way for the .gov to pass off the cost of the medical expenses of victims of violent crime to consumers of firearms as opposed to the entire tax base. The idea is the same as that for imposing an insurance requirement, although any insurance agent will tell them that few criminals will be insured, and the liability coverage does not pay for intentional torts. All that will be paid is those few cases of negligent discharges resulting in injuries.

    • “These taxes are a way for the .gov to pass off the cost of the medical expenses of victims of violent crime to consumers of firearms as opposed to the entire tax base</strike fuck over people they don’t like while throwing red meat to the base in a Constitutionally questionable manner.

      FIFY.

  5. Seems like they’d be better positioned taxing cans of ether, Altoid tins, hoodies, energy drinks, and cheap backpacks if they want those responsible for crime to pay the victims.

    • Golly in Cook County,ILLANNOY for quite awhile the Dims have tacked on a $25 slush fund er “violence tax” on any handgun sold. Guess who hasn’t bought a handgun in Crook county since 2011🙄

  8. How does this not fly in the face of Murdock v PA? “A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the Federal Constitution.”

    • It will probably lose in court. Numerous lawsuits are in the works.

      But that’s kinda the point, even when they lose, they win because they took your tax money to do what they did, took more to defend it and then forced you to pay to sue them too.

  11. Most rich people don’t commit violent crimes.
    Best to keep the poor unarmed.
    Who cares about their safety or lives anyway?
    America, where your Rights depend on how much money you have.

    • Not the worst idea I’ve heard, actually since I went back and read a few things from a couple days back.

      See, I’m still laughing that Miner agreed with me that we can tax abortions or even mandate that businesses fire people for getting them, he just doesn’t realize that he did it.

      Red states should immediately move to place a $25,000 excise tax on abortions and create a $25,000 child tax credit funded by the excise tax, you know, so that the credit pays for itself.

      Hell, I’ll even take a 6.5% gun tax if the GOP grows a pair and starts taxing the Left into oblivion and having them fired from their jobs at the same time.

      • “Red states should immediately move to place a $25,000 excise tax on abortions and create a $25,000 child tax credit funded by the excise tax, you know, so that the credit pays for itself.”

        That’s the way to do it… 😉

  19. BREAKING: Glock Ban Introduced… Glock Switches Cited As Reason For Bill WRITTEN BY EVERYTOWN.

  20. The classic movie, “High Noon” was highly criticized as “un-American” because it depicted a town full of fearful people, who had to be saved by a single, principled person (Sheriff), who was so disgusted he threw his badge into the dirt of the street.

    “High Noon” predicted the America we live in today.

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