Some Republican members of Congress have launched a legislative effort to repeal a federal tax on certain firearms that has been in place for almost a century.
The tax was first imposed in 1934 as the central piece of the National Firearms Act (NFA), an attempt by Congress to limit the availability of machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles, silencers and suppressors, and other weapons and accessories that were widely used within criminal organizations during Prohibition.
In addition to background checks and registration, Americans must pay a $200 tax each time they transfer an NFA-regulated item. Further, manufacturers and importers are taxed $1,000 each year and dealers are taxed $500 in order to do business with NFA-regulated weapons.
“Passed into law in 1934, the National Firearms Act needs to be amended,” the senator said in a statement about the bill. “Our legislation will remove the red tape that places an undue financial burden on would-be gun owners.”
The three-page bill, dubbed Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises (RIFLE) Act, does not modify the current checks and registration, the senator said. It only removes the federally mandated transfer tax.
The tax is collected by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which also maintains NFA weapon registration records in a central registry. The federal agency has acknowledged that the NFA was created with the goal of discouraging Americans from purchasing certain weapons and accessories by making them prohibitively expensive.
The $200 might not sound like a significant amount, but in 1934—at the height of the Great Depression— it was equivalent to $4,648 in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation.
Despite the punitive tax, NFA-regulated firearms such as short-barreled rifles and shotguns remain popular among outdoors enthusiasts involved in hunting and trapping today, just as they were generations ago. According to the lawmakers backing the bill, ownership of NFA-regulated items has grown by more than 250 percent since 2018.
Other Lawmakers in Support
In the upper chamber, joining Mr. Cotton as sponsors are Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).The proposed legislation is endorsed by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), a Second Amendment advocacy group based in Bellevue, Washington.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said the federal gun tax “is, and always has been, wrong.”
“The use of suppressors primarily as hearing protection at shooting ranges, and for hunting, is expanding,” he said. “The RIFLE Act would only remove the tax on these items, while leaving other requirements including background checks and registration in place.”
“We’re delighted Senator Cotton and a dozen of his Senate colleagues have made this important move to correct the problem. We’re encouraged by Rep. Hinson’s introduction of companion legislation in the House that this measure will get the attention it deserves.”
It’s not the first time Ms. Hinson has introduced the RIFLE Act in the House. She spearheaded the same legislative effort in 2021 and 2023, but neither bill made it out of committee.
