IN BRIEF

Official proposes bullet tax to curb Chicago crime

OCTOBER 19, 2012 by TSVETELIN M. TSONEVSKI

“Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle submitted a proposed budget on Thursday that would impose a tax of a nickel for each bullet and $25 for each firearm sold in the nation’s second-largest county, which encompasses Chicago.

Preckwinkle’s office estimates the tax will generate about $1 million a year, money that would be used for various county services including medical care for gunshot victims. Law enforcement officials would not have to pay the tax, but the office said it would apply to 40 federally licensed gun dealers in the county.

Preckwinkle insists the ordinance is far more about addressing gun violence than raising money for a county that faces a budget shortfall of more than $260 million”. (Boston Globe)

How many of the criminals who commit crimes obtain their guns in a store and pay sales tax?

FEE Timely Classics:
“Guns, Gun Laws, and Liberty” by Lawrence W. Reed
“More Guns Less Crime” by David B. Kopel