said by wolfox :

Here in the US, thanks to the Bureau Of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, there is nearly an across the board 300% *Federal* tax on the items mentioned in the name of that bureau. Then you pay whatever else your local state taxes pile on top. Think of how cheap all above items would be without a federally mandated 300% mark-up before it is even wholesaled?
What I really wonder is where all of that cash goes?!