| Click the button below to search for articles... View News Items from prior months... June 2021 July 2020 June 2016 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 July 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 November 2012 October 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 October 2010 September 2010 February 2010 January 2010 | California Bullet Tax Would Backfire As seen in the Orange County Register, Daily Democrat, San Bernardino Sun, California Political News & Views and Fox & Hounds Daily By George Runner If you want to grow government these days, it seems the fashionable thing to do is invent new taxes. Two years ago, legislators conjured up an illegal fire "fee." Last year, they invented a confusing new lumber tax. Two voter-approved multi-billion dollar tax hikes later, and the politicians still want more of your money. This time they want to tax your ammunition. Two lawmakers-Assemblymembers Roger Dickenson (D-Sacramento) and Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) are authoring legislation to impose a nickel-per-bullet tax on the sale of ammunition in California. Apparently they couldn't agree on where to spend the revenue, so each lawmaker is introducing his own measure. A nickel per bullet may not sound like much, but it will mean that each box of 100 shells purchased by a hunter or recreational shooter will cost $5 more. Double that number if both proposed bills pass. Guns and ammunition are a convenient scapegoat for the tragic loss of life in recent shootings. But more gun laws and higher taxes won't stop crime. In fact, increased laws and taxes could backfire by leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless and creating a lucrative new source of revenue for criminal gangs. Consider cigarettes, for instance. Taxes may have discouraged smoking, which is a good thing, but they've also created a huge market for smugglers. A recent study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that more than one third of cigarettes smoked in California were smuggled into our state. Not coincidentally, the state with the highest cigarette taxes, New York, had the highest smuggling rate: 60.9%. The social costs of smuggling include health and safety risks, increased law enforcement expense and higher crime. An ammunition tax will backfire, and the reason is simple: evading a new tax on bullets will be a piece of cake. California consumers will simply stop buying ammunition at local gun stores and instead start buying it online from out-of-state stores that don't have to collect California taxes. True, these consumers will still owe use tax on these purchases, but few will pay it-and enforcement will be difficult and, in most cases, cost-prohibitive. State coffers will see little to no additional revenue, but many California small businesses will suffer greatly as ammunition sales shift to their out-of-state competitors. It won't be the first time a new tax fails to yield the promised revenue. Supporters projected that a 2008 malt liquor tax would raise $41 million for the state. Actual revenue was less than $200,000, because most manufacturers simply reformulated their products. Tax policy has consequences. Another reason to oppose new taxes and fees is that California already has too many. As a taxpayer advocate and elected member of the State Board of Equalization, I oversee the administration and collection of more than thirty tax and fee programs-like sales taxes, fuel taxes and tire fees-that impose upon nearly every aspect of life. Each new tax or fee inevitably grows the state workforce and costs millions of taxpayer dollars to administer and enforce. Speaking of enforcement, California already has some of the strictest and most complicated gun laws in the nation. The problem is we don't do a very good job enforcing those laws with the billions in taxes Californians already pay. At a recent legislative hearing, the Attorney General's office reported that it lacks the resources to enforce existing laws prohibiting felons and other dangerous individuals from owning weapons. Nearly 20,000 people identified by the Armed Prohibited Persons System are in illegal possession of firearms, but there aren't nearly enough investigators to keep up. And the backlog grows daily. It's not a question of whether Californians are paying enough taxes-we clearly are. It's the state's spending priorities that are out of whack. We don't need a bullet tax, and we don't need more tax and fee programs. Legislators simply need to stop enacting new laws that chase law-abiding taxpayers and jobs out of our state, and instead start prioritizing the enforcement of laws we already have on the books. George Runner is a taxpayer advocate and elected member of the state Board of Equalization. Published: 02/12/13 THE LAW AND CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTION Contractors, Owner-Builders; Property Owners, and Tenants: Please be aware that Senate Bill - SB 183 requires all single-family homes with an attached garage or a fossil fuel heat source (wood, coal, propane, oil, kerosene, etc.) to install carbon monoxide alarms within the home beginning July 1, 2011, and owners of multi-family leased or rented dwellings, such as an apartment building, are required to comply with the law by January 1, 2013. There are two types of Carbon Monoxide (CO) devices. The most typical that is installed in a single family home is the carbon monoxide alarm which has its own built-in power supply and audible signal. Most importantly, please be aware that the carbon monoxide device must be one that has been pre-approved by the State Fire Marshall (SFM). SB-183 prohibits the marketing, distribution, or sale of devices that are not approved and listed by the State Fire Marshall. You can find a list of State Fire Marshall approved devices at http://osfm/fire.ca.gov or email (building@sierracounty.ws) or call the Sierra County Building Department at 530-289-3251 if you should need assistance. Thank you. Published: 02/04/13 |