Legislation introduced on Capitol Hill would zap the antiquated 90-year-old tax charged by the federal government on items such as suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
The Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises (RIFLE) Act, filed this week by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) in the Senate and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) in the House, would remove the tax imposed on firearms regulated through the National Firearms Act. With so many NFA items in circulation – over 7 million as of 2021– the bill's authors described deleting the tax as removing an artificial obstacle to the right to keep and bear arms.
“Law-abiding Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights should not be subject to unnecessary taxes and restrictions preventing them from doing so," said Cotton. "Passed into law in 1934, the National Firearms Act needs to be amended. Our legislation will remove the red tape that places an undue financial burden on would-be gun owners."
According to the latest statistics released by federal regulators, as of May 2021 the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record – the central registry for all Title II weapons regulated under the NFA – there were 3.3 million destructive devices, 2.7 million suppressors, 741,146 machine guns, 532,725 SBRs, 62,267 short-barreled shotguns, and 67,744 "any other weapons" on the ATF's books, totaling 7,512,175 items of all types. Compare this to the figures from just a decade prior – 2,850,406 of all types – and it is easy to see how NFA items have become much more mainstream.
At the same time, the NFA-related transfer and marking tax collected by the federal government rose from $7.1 million in 2010 to a whopping $51 million in 2020.
"The federal government should not be placing financial barriers on the inalienable rights of Americans," said Congresswoman Hinson. "This unconstitutional tax on certain firearm purchases is a direct violation of the Second Amendment and must be repealed."
While the proposal removes the federally mandated financial burden on law-abiding gun owners, it would keep the rest of the NFA intact. In short, those looking to acquire an NFA-controlled item would still have to submit the paperwork and wait for the background check process to complete, but the pain of the tax stamp would disappear.
This could vaporize the argument by gun control advocates against such NFA reform as the Hearing Protection Act, which aims to deregulate suppressors from NFA control and treat them as standard Title I firearms. The controls, including a more extensive background check, being on a federal registry, and having PITA reporting requirements when traveling with some NFA items, would endure, at least until future reforms.
The Rifle Act has been introduced in the Senate as S.4344, with 12 co-sponsors, and is referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile, the House version, H.R. 790, has 43 co-sponsors. It has the support of pro-gun groups as well as the trade organization for the American firearms industry.
Still, anything that can be seen as pro-gun is unlikely to make it across the desk of President Biden, especially in an election year. With that said, it is an election year, with control of both the White House and Congress up for grabs, and a version of Rifle Act could see a much easier path to success under new management.
Banner image: A Beretta PMXs pistol – which practically begs for a Form 1 to become an SBR – along with a SilencerCo Omega 36M modular suppressor. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
