{
  "id": "R45123",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R45123",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 578884,
      "date": "2018-03-05",
      "retrieved": "2018-05-10T11:12:52.872709",
      "title": "Guns, Excise Taxes, Wildlife Restoration, and the National Firearms Act",
      "summary": "Federal taxes on firearms and ammunition are collected through different methods and used for different purposes, depending on the nature of the firearms. Some tax receipts are used for wildlife restoration and for hunter education and safety, for example, whereas others are deposited into the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. The assessment of these taxes and the uses of generated revenues are routinely of interest to many in Congress. \nIn general, taxes on the manufacture of firearms (including pistols and revolvers as well as rifles and other long guns) and ammunition are collected as excise taxes based on the manufacturer\u2019s or importer\u2019s sales price, under the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. \u00a74181). These taxes are imposed on the manufacturer\u2019s sales price at a rate of 10% on pistols and revolvers and 11% on ammunition and other firearms. (Pistols and revolvers, ammunition, and other firearms each account for about a third of these tax revenues.) The tax, which raised $761.6 million in FY2017, is administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in the Department of the Treasury. \nThese revenues are allocated to the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, also known as the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, and used for wildlife restoration and for hunter safety and education purposes. Established by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (16 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7669-669k, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act), the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior. It also receives revenues from taxes on bows and arrows (26 U.S.C. \u00a74161(b)). Amounts in the fund are allocated to states and selected territories based on formulas, with the largest share for wildlife restoration, apportioned one-half according to the size of the area and one-half according to the area\u2019s share of the overall number of hunting licenses (with a floor and ceiling on these allocations). The federal cost share for most activities receiving support from the fund is capped at 75%.\nTaxes also are collected for the making and transfer of certain types of firearms and equipment (such as machine guns, short-barreled firearms, and silencers) regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA; 26 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a75801 et seq.). These taxes originally were set at a level intended to slow the transfer of these weapons, although the tax has not been raised since the NFA was enacted in 1934. In addition, special occupational taxes are collected from federally licensed gun dealers who manufacture, import, or sell NFA firearms. NFA-generated tax receipts are deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury. These tax receipts totaled $68.6 million in FY2016.\nA variety of proposals have been advanced in recent Congresses that could affect the taxes on firearms and the uses of resulting revenues. In the 115th Congress, some legislative proposals, several of which are known as the Hearing Protection Act, would remove firearm silencers from regulation and taxation under the NFA; firearm silencers would be taxed along with pistols and revolvers at 10%, with revenues deposited into the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund primarily in support of public target ranges. Other proposals would allow funds to be used to promote hunting and recreational shooting or for Mexican gray wolf management. Still other proposals would increase taxes on guns or ammunition, with proceeds used for gun-violence concerns (e.g., compensation to teachers who are victims of a school shooting, hiring law enforcement personnel, and neighborhood safety).",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45123",
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      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4851,
          "name": "Firearms Regulation"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4928,
          "name": "Wildlife & Ecosystems"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4936,
          "name": "Excise & Other Taxes"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Crime Policy",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Energy Policy",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}