The California legislature passed a new excise tax specifically on firearms, firearm precursor parts and ammunition. The 11% levy, paid in addition to sales taxes, would take effect on July 1, 2024. The state has a base statewide sales tax of 7.25% with most cities and counties imposing additional sales taxes, meaning buyers of guns, parts and ammunition would pay taxes of at least 18.25% on their purchases in California. Critics of the measure say it exceeds legislative authority by taxing a constitutional right.
AB 28, introduced by Assemblymembers Jesse Gabriel, D – Woodland Hills, and Kevin McCarthy, D – Sacramento, would direct tax revenues from the measure to a new Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund. They claim the bill is analogous to a federal excise tax firearms and ammunition since 1919 of 10-11% that has been used to fund conservation efforts to remediate ecological effects of hunting, citing the National Rifle Association’s support for these excise tax-funded conservation efforts. The Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund, estimated to take in $160 million per year, will prioritize “reducing and preventing gun violence” in “communities that are disproportionately impacted by shootings and gun homicides.”