Lawmakers seek tax and fee cuts for gun buyers, owners
TALLAHASSEE — It could be a good year for gun rights and gun owners. The state Legislature is proposing to make Florida one of the few states offering tax breaks for purchasers of guns, ammunition and gun club memberships.
A massive House tax cut package would exempt target and skeet shooting club membership fees from sales taxes, and create a sales tax holiday on July 4 for rifles, shotguns and ammunition.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, chairman of the House Finance and Tax Committee, said “Every item in the tax package is a priority to me.”
In committee last week, Gaetz referred to taxes on the club memberships as “the Second Amendment tax” and said, “If someone is responsibly engaged in the activity of learning how to appropriately use their firearm, it decreases the rate of error, it decreases potential accidents.”
Louisiana and Mississippi have similar firearms sales tax holidays, according to the National Rifle Association.
Fantastic idea being sponsored by Matt Gaetz. Not only does this serve the purpose of helping gun owners out on a tax holiday, but Gaetz also points out the practical application of this.
By helping gun ranges and not taxing memberships, they are encouraging people to train with their firearm.
The more training people have, the less likely they are to have accidents or be a public menace while walking around with a firearm.
Furthermore, it helps gun ranges keep their doors open. Some of the horror stories coming out about tax bills for these gun ranges are unbelievable.
Some have had bills of $20k and even $50k in taxes. Due to these taxes they had to shut their doors or take loans out just to stay open.
As the article points out, Louisiana and Mississippi have similar tax holidays for guns and ammo. These holidays are wildly popular and often give a pretty huge boost to the local economy.
Let’s hope Florida is able to pass these tax breaks.
