Seattle’s unusual $25 gun tax upheld in state court
SEATTLE — The Washington Supreme Court upheld Seattle’s so-called “gun violence tax” against a challenge from gun rights groups Thursday, leaving the city as one of the only places in the country that taxes the sale of firearms and ammunition to raise money for gun-violence research.
In an 8-1 decision , the justices ruled that the levy fell within the city’s taxing authority and its primary purpose was to raise revenue for “the public benefit.”
The tax, which took effect in 2016, adds $25 to the price of each firearm sold in the city plus 2 cents or 5 cents per round of ammunition, depending on the type. It raised less than $200,000 in its first year, with the money earmarked for gun-violence research. One gun shop cited the tax in moving out of the city.
Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, is apparently the only other jurisdiction with such a measure, according to both gun rights groups and gun-control advocates. Seattle’s City Council based its tax on that one, which took effect in 2013.