Gun, Ammo Taxes Struck Down By Illinois Supreme Court

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Supreme Court struck down a Cook County tax on guns and ammunition as unconstitutional, finding that county officials failed to demonstrate it is substantially related to reducing gun violence.

In a 6-0 opinion handed down Thursday in Guns Save Life Inc. v. Ali et al— a case filed by the firearm owners advocacy group against county officials — the supreme court ruled that the Cook County Firearm and Firearm Ammunition Tax Ordinance violates the uniformity clause of the Illinois Constitution.

One of the justices issued a special concurring opinion, while Chief Justice Anne Burke took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

"Under the plain language of the ordinances, the revenue generated from the firearm tax is not directed to any fund or program specifically related to curbing the cost of gun violence," the majority found. "Additionally, nothing in the ordinance indicates that the proceeds generated from the ammunition tax must be specifically directed to initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence. Thus, we hold the tax ordinances are unconstitutional under the uniformity clause."

The uniformity clause in Article IX of the state constitution requires that classes of taxes must be reasonable and that subjects and objects within each class be taxed uniformly.

Originally passed in 2012 and amended in 2015, the ordinance imposed a $25 tax on guns and an ammunition tax of 5 cents per cartridge on centerfire ammunition and 1 cent per cartridge for rimfire ammunition purchased in Cook County.

A Cook County judge granted a motion to dismiss the case, finding that Guns Save Life had not provided evidence that the tax would prevent people from owning guns or hinder the ability of law-abiding people to possess guns for self-defense, according to the opinion. And even if they had, the lower court found, the tax was justified because its revenue was going to combat gun violence.

An appellate court panel last year issued a ruling affirming the circuit court's decision before the advocacy group appealed the case to the state's high court.

In its ruling striking down the tax, justices found that, "where a tax classification directly bears on a fundamental right, the government must establish a closer tie between the tax classification and the object of the legislation."

Justice Michael Burke issued a special concurring opinion as part of the 14-page ruling. He said he agreed with the majority in that the county's tax had to be struck down, but warned his fellow justices had left space for a local government to come up with another tax that singles out guns and ammunition sales.

"I believe that the majority's analysis wrongly leaves the door open for a municipality to enact a future tax on firearms or ammunition that is more narrowly tailored to the purpose of ameliorating the cost of gun violence," Burke said. "The only problem with that approach is that it would still violate the state constitution."