Ala. State Rep. Becky Nordgren, R-Gadsden, announced this morning that she has introduced a bill to create an annual state sales tax holiday on the weekend prior to the Fourth of July for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, and firearm supplies.
“The anti-gun agenda being pursued by Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats, and other D.C. liberals has caused the cost of firearms and ammunition to skyrocket, and Alabamians, who embrace guns by long-standing tradition, deserve some relief,” Nordgren said. “Holding a firearms sales tax holiday at the anniversary of our nation’s birth is the perfect way to celebrate the rights and independence that we hold close to our hearts as Americans.”
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Under the provisions of House Bill 559, the state sales tax and use tax on firearms, ammunition, and firearms supplies would be waived on the Friday through Sunday prior to Independence Day each year.
Nordgren said she believed the annual sales tax holiday could attract customers from surrounding states, which would generate revenue through tourism and other purchases made by visitors during their time in Alabama.
Demand for firearms and ammunition by consumers has risen sharply since President Obama took office, which in turn caused prices for those items to spike. Some areas of the country reported that ammunition prices had doubled last year alone.
In addition, some Congressional Democrats have proposed federal legislation that would double the 11 percent tax on handguns and impose a 50 percent tax on shells and cartridges.
“Owning a firearm is a guaranteed right under the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but the liberals in Washington seem intent to drive prices so high that average working folks cannot afford to have one,” Nordgren said. “One of the reasons that Remington recently selected Huntsville for the site of its new manufacturing facility is because Alabama is a pro-gun state, and there is no better way to demonstrate that fact than by creating this tax holiday weekend.”
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