Sales tax holiday for guns proposed

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: May 19, 2009 - Page: 1A

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Louisiana should have its own Second Amendment sales tax holiday, two House and Senate committees agreed Monday.

The two bills would exempt the 4 percent sales tax on purchases of firearms during one weekend each year.

However, the much more broad Senate version also would exempt local sales taxes and apply to ammunition and other hunting supplies as well.

State Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, and a few other legislators expressed concern about making tax holidays for guns.

“I guess I’m a little bit miffed as to why it’s just firearms,” Burrell said in Monday’s House ways and Means Committee meeting. “Are you using tax-exempt status to support a political issue?

“It’s encouraging putting more guns on the street,” he added.

Bill author and State Rep Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson, said the legislation is simply to support hobbies, recreation and local businesses.

“The whole logic is to bring everyone in to purchase a firearm and then they buy everything else,” Henry said, calling it a “win-win.”

South Carolina started the Second Amendment sales tax holiday trend last year.

Henry’s National Rifle Association-backed House Bill 128 was amended Monday with his approval so the legislation would cost the state nothing, or very little.

Henry’s bill was amended to place a $2,500 limit on the sales tax exemption of a purchase and to cut the holiday from three days to two days on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving in November.

That would match the bill with the state’s two-day, $2,500 limit sales tax holiday in August.

To avoid costing the state much, Henry agreed to exclude firearm purchases from the August sales tax holiday and to only have the tax exemption for firearms for the two days in November.