Citing gun violence ‘epidemic,’ Richland council members balk at tax deal for gun manufacturer
Despite approving a slew of tax breaks for manufacturers amid a recent economic development boom, five Richland County Council members decided this week they couldn’t justify a tax break to support a gun manufacturer’s expansion in Columbia.
A split council voted down a tax incentive deal for gun manufacturer FN America on Tuesday.
“It is very clear that there is a direct line from these manufacturers to the epidemic of gun violence that we have today,” Councilmember Allison Terracio told The State newspaper Wednesday.
FN America, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, has been manufacturing firearms in Richland County since the 1980s.
FN America produces weapons for the U.S. military, police departments and consumers across the nation, including handguns, machine guns and grenade launchers.
The county was considering offering FN America an incentive that would amount to a 60% tax break for 12 years to compensate for financial challenges associated with expanding operations. In exchange for this, FN America would invest $16.5 million and create at least 100 new full-time jobs.
Earlier this month, County Council gave an initial 7-3 approval of the proposed deal with FN America.
But in a final vote Tuesday, council members who voted against the proposal said they could not justify using taxpayer money to incentivize a commercial gun company. The proposal failed by a 5-5 vote, with one council member abstaining from the vote.
Council members Derrek Pugh (District 2), Yvonne McBride (District 3), Allison Terracio (District 5), Cheryl English (District 10) and Chakisse Newton (District 11) voted “no” to the tax break for FN America.
Council members Jason Branham (District 1), Paul Livingston (District 4), Don Weaver (District 6), Gretchen Barron (District 7) and Overture Walker (District 8) voted in favor of the tax break.
Jesica Mackey (District 9), who represents the area where FN America’s facility is located, recused herself from the vote due to a conflict of interest with the business.
“I have no problems if that company wants to sell guns, then it’s fine, but do not use taxpayer dollars,” Councilmember Yvonne McBride said during the meeting. “This is not about gun control. This is about using taxpayer dollars to incentivize the sale of guns.”
However, if this proposal had passed, taxypayers would not be paying FN America — FN America would just be paying the county less in taxes.
For Terracio, this vote was about gun control.
“We are horrified regularly about mass shootings,” she told The State on Wednesday after the vote. “Putting more dollars in the hands of these gun manufacturers is not something that I will be able to support now or ever.”
Not only does Terracio want to limit the amount of guns in the community, she said she also would like to see common sense gun laws passed at the state level.
“Wouldn’t it be great if those manufacturers decided that they wanted to push for common sense gun laws?” Terracio said. “I would think that it would not be good for your image to be a pusher of loose gun laws.”
FN America did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication. Attempts by The State to reach other council members for comment on Wednesday also were not successful.
