This week, the House Ways & Means Committee reported out a multitude of tax-related bills to the full House for consideration. Lawmakers are currently grappling with closing a $940 million budget gap by June 30 (while still facing a $2 billion shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1.) Representatives will begin debating these proposals on Thursday.
While there are many moving parts and no clear path towards a solution at the mid-way point of the current 30-day special session, one thing is clear -- everything is on the table, including the Second Amendment tax-free weekend that gun owners and sportsmen have enjoyed annually since September of 2009.
Please email your state Representative and urge him or her to PROTECT LOUISIANA'S SECOND AMENDMENT SALES TAX HOLIDAY! Feel free to use talking points below in the body of your email, politely showing the economic impact that hunting and fishing have on the state and the fact that sportsmen and the industries serving them already pay extra to protect Louisiana's conservation heritage. You can contact your Representative by clicking here or the button above.
Protect Louisiana’s Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday
In addition to celebrating the state’s commitment to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms and strong sporting traditions, the Second Amendment sales tax holiday recognizes the invaluable contributions that hunters and anglers, as well as the sporting industry, make to Louisiana’s conservation efforts and the state’s economy.
“User Pays-Public Benefits” Model of Wildlife Conservation:
Sportsmen Already Pay Extra To Expand & Protect State Resources
Federal dollars that the U.S. Government allocates annually to the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries for game and hatchery management, habitat conservation, hunter education and shooting range construction come from excise taxes paid on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment – relieving Louisiana taxpayers of the burden of financing some of these programs.
Under the Pittman-Robertson Act, the 11% excise taxes collected on long guns, ammunition and archery equipment, as well as the 10% excise tax collected on handguns, is given to the Department of Interior/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to distribute to states. These funds are made available to the states and U.S. territories the year following their collection based in part on the area of each state and its number of licensed hunters. Similarly, under the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, a 10% excise tax on sport fish tackle, a 3% excise tax on fish finders and electric trolling motors, and a portion motorboat and small engine fuel taxes are collected and distributed to the states for acquisition and improvement of sport fish habitat, surveys and inventories of sport fish populations, boating access facilities and aquatic resources education. In Fiscal Year 2014, Louisiana was allocated $21 million from the USFWS Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.
Economic Impact of Hunting & Fishing Far Outweighs Small Tax Break Given Sportsmen One Weekend a Year
According to a 2013 economic impact report by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, more than 276,000 hunters and over 825,000 anglers were responsible for more than $710 million and $959 million in retail sales, supporting nearly 25,000 jobs across the state. They also paid more than $72 million and $93 million in state and local taxes. This is in addition to the federal excise taxes mentioned above.
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