Violence Tax on Guns

ILLINOIS

– A “violence tax” on guns has been approved in the Chicago area BY Cook County commissioners.

City law prohibits gun sales in Chicago, but the $25 tax on every gun purchased in the county is meant to offset health care and other costs of gun violence, said Toni Preckwinkle, Board President.

The average shooting victim costs taxpayers $52,000 in acute care because close to 70 percent of victims don’t have health insurance.

The National Rifle Association said the “misguided and burdensome gun tax” continues to penalize law-abiding gun owners for exercising their right to bear arms.

The gun tax was passed as part of a $2.9 billion spending plan for 2013 and will take effect April 1.