NYS Ponders Ammo Tax

In a bid to slow the surging crime rate in their state, Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Pat Fahy (D-Albany) have proposed a tax of 2 to 5 cents per round of ammunition.

Calling the traditional approach of increasing funding for police and imposing severe punishment of criminals “racist,” Gounardes believes “using economic incentives will have a greater impact. If every bullet fired costs more, fewer bullets will be fired. Instead of letting loose with a hundred bullet barrage, shooters will be more frugal in their firefights with rival gangs. Robbers will be incentivized to merely threaten to shoot rather than actually shoot shopkeepers they are stealing from.”

Fahy pointed out that “taxes, unlike police officers, never sleep. Perps who evade detection by police will still be hit with the ammo tax. The relentless toll of taxes on the operating budgets of criminal enterprises will be more effective in combating crime than the often befuddled and error prone cops. A side benefit of making ammunition more expensive is that so-called law-abiding citizens may also be discouraged from buying guns. This will eliminate many many accidental shootings and suicides—a benefit totally overlooked by Second Amendment fanatics.”