Monday, May 20, 2024

California is about to tax guns more like alcohol and tobacco − and that could put a dent in gun violence. Really!

This article was written by a professor (private, catholic University of San Diego)! May I suspect a naive, nutty professor oblivious of history! His lifetime citation count is 254 (this is very low) according to Google Scholar.

Wow, the professor cites the Pigouvian tax as an argument! It is an economics text book classic. However, it is more of a toy tax or an intellectual exercise than anything else.

Criminals probably could not care less!

"Starting in July 2024, California will be the first state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition. The new tax – an 11% levy on each sale – will come on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and California’s 6% sales tax. ...
This policy is known as a “Pigouvian tax,” named after 20th-century British economist Arthur Pigou. By making a given product more expensive, such a tax leads people to buy less of it, reducing the harm to society while generating tax revenue that the state can theoretically use to offset those harms that still accrue. ..."

California is about to tax guns more like alcohol and tobacco − and that could put a dent in gun violence

The professor's portrait according to Google Scholar


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