Berkeley Municipal Code Ch. 7.92 Firearm and Firearm Ammunition Seller Tax

A. Gunshot fatalities and care of gunshot victims in California cost seven hundred three million dollars in direct medical costs in 1993 alone.

B. As of 1994 there were more than twice as many gun dealers as public schools in California.

C. More Californians now die from guns than from automobile accidents.

D. In Berkeley in the years 1993 to 1995 guns were used to commit fourteen homicides, nine hundred seven robberies and one hundred five aggravated assaults.

E. Crime, gangs and gun violence occur across city and county boundaries with each crime often involving perpetrators living in, and acts committed in, several different jurisdictions. As a result, the Police Chiefs Association in both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties have urged that regional approaches be developed to respond to such crime.

F. The City of Berkeley is a participant in one such regional effort entitled the "East Bay Public Safety Corridor Partnership," comprised of the cities and counties adjacent to I-80. Numerous public officials representing cities and counties in the Partnership and other neighboring cities in the Bay Area recognize that an important tool to combat crime and gun violence is to jointly enact appropriate legislation.

G. One type of appropriate legislation to discourage the sale of guns is to tax sellers of guns and ammunition. (Ord. 6469-NS § 1, 1998)

A. The tax imposed under this chapter is solely for the purpose of raising income and revenue which is necessary to assure the provision of the usual and current expenses of City conflict resolution, recreational, and educational programs specifically directed at youth.

B. Section 4 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution (Proposition 13) allows two-thirds of the qualified electors of the city to impose a special tax within the City, provided the special tax is not an ad valorem tax on real property or a transaction tax or a sales tax on the sale of real property within the City. The tax imposed by this chapter is a special tax which is authorized for elector approval by Section 4 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution. (Ord. 6469-NS § 2, 1998)

A. There is imposed a special tax on every person engaged in the business of selling firearms or firearms ammunition, as defined by this chapter, of one hundred fifty dollars for each thousand dollars of gross receipts from all merchandise sold in the same premises as the firearms or firearm ammunition is sold.

B. The tax imposed by this chapter shall be operative on July 1,1997, and supersedes the tax adopted by Ordinance 6349-N.S. (Ord. 6469-NS § 3, 1998)

For purposes of this chapter only the following terms shall be defined as set forth below:

"Engaged in the business of selling firearms or firearm ammunition" means the selling, leasing or transferring of firearms or firearm ammunition. No person shall be engaged in the business of selling firearms or firearms ammunition within the meaning of this chapter if they are not required to obtain a permit to sell firearms or firearm ammunition (munitions) pursuant to Chapter 9.72 of the Berkeley Municipal Code, or if they are an auctioneer or auction company required to maintain a bond or deposit pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1812.600 or any successor statute.

"Firearm" means any device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel a projectile by the force of any explosion, or other form of combustion. The term also includes any rocket, rocket propelled projectile launcher, or similar device containing any explosive or incendiary material and not designed for emergency or distress signaling purposes.

"Firearm ammunition" means any projectiles with their fuses, propelling charges, or primers fired from weapons, and any of the individual components thereof, including, but not limited to, black powder and reloading primers. (Ord. 6469-NS § 4, 1998)

Pursuant to California Constitution Article XIIIB, the appropriation limit for the City is increased by the aggregate sum authorized to be levied by this special tax for each of the four fiscal years from 1997-8 through 2000-01. (Ord. 6469-NS § 5, 1998)

A. Any person required to pay tax under this chapter shall be exempt from taxation under the City’s Business License Tax, Chapter 9.04 of the Berkeley Municipal Code.

B. This chapter shall be administered in the same manner as the City’s Business License Tax, Chapter 9.04 of the Berkeley Municipal Code, except that Section 9.04.225 shall not apply. (Ord. 6469-NS § 6, 1998)

The City Council may repeal this chapter, or amend it in a manner which does not result in an increase in the tax imposed herein, without further voter approval. If the City Council repeals this chapter, it may subsequently reenact it without voter approval, as long as the reenacted chapter does not result in an increase in the tax imposed herein. (Ord. 6469-NS § 7, 1998)