JEFFERSON CITY — Exempting guns and ammunition from sales taxes in Missouri could defund the police and lead to cuts at state-owned hunting land and shooting ranges, opponents of the proposal said Monday.
Under legislation sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, sales of firearms and ammunition made in Missouri would be
But the measure, which earlier won approval in the Senate, could cost local governments nearly $95 million in lost revenue, while the state would see a $78 million reduction, according to a nonpartisan fiscal analysis of the bill.
Richard Sheets, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League, told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that ending the collection of sales taxes on guns could reduce funds for local law enforcement.
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“I think we need to understand these local sales taxes are important to our citizens,” Sheets said. “Reducing those services would harm the community.”
Aaron Jefferies, deputy director of the Department of Conservation, said the loss of revenue could affect maintenance at the state’s 70 unstaffed shooting ranges, less trash pickup at conservation lands managed by the agency and less mowing of the areas where people hunt, fish and hike.
“It would impact the citizens of the state,” Jefferies told the panel.
Brattin dismissed those concerns, arguing the the fiscal analysis outlining the projected costs was “wildly outlandish” and that people shouldn’t be taxed based on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
“The impetus of this for me is that it’s a constitutional right,” Brattin said. “For us to levy those taxes against a constitutional right I feel is a bad move on our part as a government.”
The measure narrowly . Five Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the legislation, which awaits a vote in the House committee.
Democrats on the panel panned the proposal as yet another example of Republicans who control state government backing legislation that puts more guns on the street.
“This is abhorrent on so many levels,” Rep. Barbara Phifer, D-Kirkwood, said.
“I think there are other areas we need to be focused on. These taxes are important to our daily lives,” said Rep. Del Taylor, D-St. Louis.
Other groups also urged lawmakers to reject the measure.
Kyna Iman, representing the Nature Conservancy, said it could have an effect on outdoor activities.
“We’re huge outdoor enthusiasts. There are some other sales taxes that we could get rid of,” Iman said. “I feel like it’s a luxury tax.”
Tyler Schwartze, executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, said the revenue losses would “certainly hinder the Department of Conservation. It would take a tool out of their toolbox.”
Susan Myers, a Springfield-area resident who helps lead a chapter of Armed Women of America, was the lone witness to testify in favor of the bill.
She said ammunition prices have remained high following pandemic-related price spikes. She said a tax cut on bullets could make the products more affordable.
Brattin downplayed the effect of any revenue losses due to the passage of his proposal.
“I just don’t see the impact as dire as what was testified,” Brattin said. “Gun ownership is not a luxury. It is a right. It’s No. 2 in the constitution.”
The legislation is .