A U.S. House Democrat wants to pass a 1,000% excise tax on assault weapons through reconciliation.
The bill would tax all AR-15 style weapons at 1,000%, according to Business Insider, as proposed by Rep. Donald Beyer, D-Va.
Beyer, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, told Business Insider that the measure is sensible gun control. It's intended to provide another creative way to make gun control happen, Beyer said. A 1,000% fee on assault weapons is a kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation. A 1,000% tax on AR-15 style guns could add as much as $5,000 to $20 to the sale price, as the price for them is typically from $500 to $2,000.
According to the report, several details of the bill aren't finalized yet.
Under the legislation Beyer will propose, bullets would not be included in the 1,000% tax, but high-capacity magazines that have the ability to carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition would be included.
There is nothing magical about that thousand percent number. It's severe enough to inhibit and restrict sales. It's successful enough that it's not seen as an absolute ban. Beyer's proposal comes after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children were killed and two adults were injured on May 24 at Robb Elementary School.