Taxing each bullet now?
- Thread starter Oathkeeper1775
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Mike1234567
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Cut/paste from posted article: "A mayoral candidate's plan to reduce violence in Baltimore includes a 'bullet tax' that he said will increase the cost of committing a crime."
Holy cow... what a moron that politician is!! Increasing the cost of bullets a few cents will decrease crime?? I'm ROFLMAO!!!!!
Holy cow... what a moron that politician is!! Increasing the cost of bullets a few cents will decrease crime?? I'm ROFLMAO!!!!!
Owen Sparks
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Think how lucrative black market reloading would become if that happened.
Sunray
Member
I've always wanted to know who pays for the lobotomy politicians get. You suppose this putz really thinks criminals buy ammo in stores or pay taxes?
Rail Driver
Member
All this seems to be from my point of view is a thinly disguised, mildly anti-gun skewed political proposal designed to increase revenue and little more. I think the whole "increase the cost of committing a crime" thing is just to make yet another tax a little more palatable to the largest percentage of the population in question.
XM855
Member
Death sentence or life in prison? Meh, whatev.
A dollar?!? Oh god, I really need to reevaluate my life...
A dollar?!? Oh god, I really need to reevaluate my life...
Even if they did, wouldn't that just encourage them to rob more people, sell more drugs, or do whatever, so they can afford those more expensive bullets?
BADUNAME37
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As usual, the honest person has to be punished while the dishonest person gets away with not having to pay a red cent, all because the dishonest person steals everything they own -- they don't have to buy bullets, they just break the door down and make off with the whole display cabinet - Guns, Ammo, You Name It!
kingpin008
Member
No, you're dealing with an idiot politician, who in reality is basically a political nobody. Things have been lookin up in this "cesspool" for awhile, and people in this state are starting to really push back against this kind of crap. So, say what you'd like, but unless you have a current view of things, please try to refrain from calling states that are far, far further along than others in terms of 2A freedoms "cesspools".
Mike1234567
member
mgmorden
Member
This is stupid. Lets assume - JUST FOR A MOMENT - that the criminals actually had no possible way around this. They're locked up in the city, no way out, can't buy bullets across the "border".
That's about as likely as the eastery bunny really turning out to be true after all these years, but lets assume it. Now, the criminal who wants to commit a crime is STILL out - at most - another $10 or so tops if he has to fire shots. The sportsman or competitor who does no harm whatsoever is the person who could get hit hard by this.
Even if there were no loop holes around it, it still wouldn't solve a thing.
That's about as likely as the eastery bunny really turning out to be true after all these years, but lets assume it. Now, the criminal who wants to commit a crime is STILL out - at most - another $10 or so tops if he has to fire shots. The sportsman or competitor who does no harm whatsoever is the person who could get hit hard by this.
Even if there were no loop holes around it, it still wouldn't solve a thing.
chevyman097
Member
I think it goes without saying.....This would neve stop crime. Only make it more expensive for legal shooters. The criminals will just steal what they want. Duh
But its amazing these politicians cant see that? uhhh they dont care.
When did we forget....."No taxation without representation"
But its amazing these politicians cant see that? uhhh they dont care.
When did we forget....."No taxation without representation"
Mike1234567
member
Oh, I beg to differ, sir. That Mayoral candidate is "representing the people" as he sees fit. What amazes me is that politicians are becoming increasing stupid. We'd be better off electing Forrest Gump. At least he had common decency.
Most criminals rarely fire their weapons. The predatory ones carry them to threaten, bully, and rob. Which typically involves no shots being fired. (I think FBI statistics show they only murder 12% of compliant victims that fully cooperated.)
The less-predatory ones that carry them are often drug dealers that have them for defense from the predatory ones.
Neither of these typical groups are going to be deterred by such costs even if they had to pay them.
$5 a round wouldn't even be too much, because they rarely ever use them.
The ones that shoot each other more frequently are gang members, and $5 or $100 to kill a rival is a drop in the bucket, the cost of ammo to fire some rounds at a rival is not going to factor into deterring them in any way.
When criminals do use them it is typically to shoot at someone, and whether that costs $5 or $100 worth of ammo is not going to deter that. Many criminals have the same rounds in a gun for years. They so rarely use the rounds it is not uncommon to find mixed and matched rounds in the same firearm, from when they shot a few rounds, and replaced those individual rounds with new ones, leaving the old ones in the magazine.
While the law abiding citizen enjoying recreational shooting shoots hundreds or thousands of rounds in the same time period a criminal has the same rounds sitting in their firearm. As a result the law abiding citizen gets hit hard by any such scheme with a greatly increased cost to recreationally shoot, while the criminal that rarely fires a couple rounds is unaffected.
The less-predatory ones that carry them are often drug dealers that have them for defense from the predatory ones.
Neither of these typical groups are going to be deterred by such costs even if they had to pay them.
$5 a round wouldn't even be too much, because they rarely ever use them.
The ones that shoot each other more frequently are gang members, and $5 or $100 to kill a rival is a drop in the bucket, the cost of ammo to fire some rounds at a rival is not going to factor into deterring them in any way.
When criminals do use them it is typically to shoot at someone, and whether that costs $5 or $100 worth of ammo is not going to deter that. Many criminals have the same rounds in a gun for years. They so rarely use the rounds it is not uncommon to find mixed and matched rounds in the same firearm, from when they shot a few rounds, and replaced those individual rounds with new ones, leaving the old ones in the magazine.
While the law abiding citizen enjoying recreational shooting shoots hundreds or thousands of rounds in the same time period a criminal has the same rounds sitting in their firearm. As a result the law abiding citizen gets hit hard by any such scheme with a greatly increased cost to recreationally shoot, while the criminal that rarely fires a couple rounds is unaffected.
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firemanstrickland
Member
ok, wow. Words do not describe the stupidity of this man and.....wow, this just makes me say things i wouldn't say around my mother.......look,.....wow..... ok. I know there are some anti's that look around on THR. Let's here what you have to say about it. Im just curious.......
The Lone Haranguer
Member
Taxes on each round of ammunition - which could be interpreted to apply to each pellet in a shotgun shell - have been proposed at various times for many years, but have always been shot down (pardon the pun). I think even the late Senator Daniel Moynihan once made such a proposal at the federal level. At a local level, the idea has major flaws. They may run afoul of state law. All anyone has to do to circumvent the tax is go outside of the city limits. And, of course, it is ludicrous to think anyone bent on murder and mayhem with firearms is going to be deterred by costing a few extra bucks. 
Still, we must remain vigilant.
Still, we must remain vigilant.Prince Yamato
Member
Wouldn't this just make "less lethal" ammo, like .22LR cost more because it is sold primarily in bulk packs? Thus, wouldn't criminals be more likely to purchase ammo in larger calibers because there are fewer per pack?
Ex: 525 rounds of ammo= $525 + regular cost...
Ex: 525 rounds of ammo= $525 + regular cost...
XM855
Member
That would make me cry.
KodiakBeer
member
How many gun stores in Baltimore? $1 a bullet tax effectively shuts them down with the loss of 5 to 10 jobs per store. Of course, gun store owners and workers are probably not in the same political party as the candidate, so they should be punished.
SharpsDressedMan
member
Probably not high road to call the man names. Perhaps he is just ill informed, or reason challenged. Well,......... maybe he is just stupid.
Well,......... maybe he is just stupid.
feedthehogs
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All good arguments but your trying to make them logical in nature.
There is nothing logical about a politicians mind. Its thinking comes from two areas, knee jerk reaction from some type of incident or follow the money trail.
Interject anything other than those two rationals and of course it makes no sense.
There is nothing logical about a politicians mind. Its thinking comes from two areas, knee jerk reaction from some type of incident or follow the money trail.
Interject anything other than those two rationals and of course it makes no sense.
M2 Carbine
member
If he is a Maryland politician (or most anywhere else) he knows exactly how criminals operate, because he is one.
Anyone remember Spiro Agnew?
When he was running for USVP my boss (in Texas) asked me, "You are from Maryland, do you know of Spiro Agnew?"
I said, "Yes he's a crook".
"You know him?"
"No not personally but if he's a Maryland politician then he is a low life criminal."
Actually he was worse than I thought. He was still taking bribes when he was US VP.
During his fifth year as Vice President of the United States, in the late summer of 1973, Agnew was under investigation by the United States Attorney's office in Baltimore, Maryland, on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery and conspiracy. In October, he was formally charged with having accepted bribes totaling more than $100,000, while holding office as Baltimore County Executive, Governor of Maryland, and Vice President of the United States. On October 10, 1973, Agnew was allowed to plead no contest to a single charge that he had failed to report $29,500 of income received in 1967, with the condition that he resign the office of Vice President. (you know you would be given that kind of break instead of being sent to jail)
Agnew is the only Vice President in United States history to resign because of criminal charges. Ten years after leaving office, in January 1983, Agnew paid the state of Maryland nearly $270,000 as a result of a civil suit that stemmed from the bribery allegations.
N003k
Member
I'm almost positive that I heard Chris Rock make a joke about this once...in fact, if you search http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/c/chris-rock-bigger-and-blacker-script.html for "Bullet Control" you'll find it...
Apparently, someone took it seriously.
Apparently, someone took it seriously.
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