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Our View: Who should pay? Cops, not pawn shops
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Pawn shops are the original check-cashing stores and tend to be viewed in a similar bad light, at least until someone needs some money in a hurry and is willing to temporarily part with a precious item to get it.
But the perceived unpopularity of pawn shops doesn't mean they should be subjected to special taxes under the rubric of improving public safety.
Tribune writer Sonu Munshi reported Tuesday that Mesa is considering a $3 "transaction fee" to be assessed every time someone hocks one of their possessions. Mesa police want the fee to pay for a new computer system to track pawn-shop items.
But pawn shops don't have the option of voluntarily sharing their inventories with the police to cut down on the trafficking of stolen goods. Refuse to register pawned items and Mesa will yank a pawn shop's license. That means the proposed "transaction fee" would be, in reality, a type of a sales or use tax enforced under the city's police powers.
This idea just reeks, as the whole point of buying the computer system would be to save money while freeing police officers to handle other tasks.
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