US silencer taxes

[LAR-15]

I came up with a proposal that would lower silencer (the term the law uses) taxes from 200 to 5 dollars. But I doubt it will go anywhere or if I should bother sending it to my rep.

HEARING PROTECTION ACT
________________________________________
A BILL
To amend Federal law by lowering certain taxes on sound moderating devices regulated by Internal Revenue Code.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Hearing Protection Act'.
SEC. 2. TAXATION OF CERTAIN SOUND MODERATING DEVICES
(a) Section 5811 of Chapter 53 of Title 26 of U.S.C. is amended to read:


‘(a) Rate
There shall be levied, collected, and paid on firearms transferred a tax at the rate of $200 for each firearm transferred, except, the transfer tax on any firearm classified as any other weapon under section 5845 (e) or any firearm as defined in section 5845 (a) (7) shall be at the rate of $5 for each such firearm transferred.’



(b) Section 5821 of Chapter 53 of Title 26 U.S.C. is amended to read:

‘(a) Rate
There shall be levied, collected, and paid upon the making of a firearm a tax at the rate of $200 for each firearm made except for the making of a firearm as defined in section 5845 (a)(7) where the rate shall be $5 for each such firearm made.’



SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect after being enacted into law




(24) The terms “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler” mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication.

 

[PTK]

How could it hurt? I think that this would at least allow more people to mess with making suppressors. $5 brings things more into the every day realm.

 

[Fly320s]

Send it to Ron Paul's office. He might actually submit the bill.

 

[skinnyguy]

Nice idea! Send it to your rep, the worst he/she could do is ignore it, the best that can happen is that we finally get a law that helps us!

 

[Monkeybear]

Maybe if we organized a massive "write in" to the NRA they would ask someone to submit it for us.

 

[Jim K]

You can always try, but don't hold your breath waiting for a change. Worse, I would be afraid that a proposal for even a minor change to the NFA would be "amended" into a total ban on all NFA firearms, to include all semi-autos.

I do like the idea of using hearing protection, though. In many areas, ranges are threatened in part because of the noise, and suppressors could help there also.

Jim

 

[Docgmt]

Going for a change in the law opens the door for changes that you do not want so before the bill gets introduce you have to get you ducks in a row and have a safety valve to stop the bill if unwanted amendments get tacked on. The best thing is to have public and group support for the bill like from the NRA and GOA before the bill gets introduced. I like the reduced noise angle that would play well in a lot of places.

 

[W.E.G.]

Unlesse we stand hard, we will soon be overrun with gun silencers.

We generally refer them as "liberals."

 

[Jim K]

Remember that the Firearms Owners Protection Act was amended to include a ban on new machinegun registrations. Reagan asked the NRA if they wanted him to veto it, but they were so eager to get the FOPA for target shooters that they let it go through. Incredibly, they were certain they could get the MG ban lifted in the next Congress. Hah!

Jim

 

[Byron Quick]

Incredibly, they were certain they could get the MG ban lifted in the next Congress. Hah!

Did the NRA even try to get the ban lifted? I've maintained membership but the memory of this has definitely curtailed my donations.

 

[wdlsguy]

I like it, LAR-15!

 

[Gildas]

Did the NRA even try to get the ban lifted? I've maintained membership but the memory of this has definitely curtailed my donations.

They backed a lawsuit to get it overturned. The 4th Circuit said no dice, the Supreme Court denied cert. From which experience I believe stems their reluctance to gamble on going to court.

 

[ServiceSoon]

I am game...we need more force behind an action like this.

Reagan asked the NRA if they wanted him to veto it

Are you serious? Are you saying we have the NRA to thank for the machine gun ban?

 

[Gunnerpalace]

And I was going to join up, well going to GOA now sorry to late bye.

 

[HKUSP45C]

Before taking Reagan and the NRA to task over the machine gun registration ban I think you should actually read the '86 FOPA. It's a piece of legislation that is one of the most sweeping boons to gun owners in recent history.

That's right. The NFA closure aside it does a LOT of really neat things for gun owners. No, really, read it. As you're reading through all the things it allows, realize that hose thing weren't allowed before.

I'm not patting the NRA on the butt. I don't actually like them as an organization but you can't really hate them for the FOPA alone. Even if it did ban new brass makers.

 

[Cork]

Too low, $5 bucks does not cover the paperwork by the BATFE. I am focused on keeping the right to own a silencer. Until recently here in very gun friendly MS state law prohibted silencers for non FFL 3 dealers. I would be concerned any reduction in silencer tax would be transferred to a high tax on automatic weapons? Glad our law now allows us to own silencers, makes backyard target shooting less attention getting and bothersome to neighbors.
My 2 cents,
Cork

 

[rkh]

Looks good, although I would rename it: "THE NOISE ABATEMENT & HEARING PROTECTION ACT OF 2007"

 

[El Tejon]

Move suppressors to Title I with federal preemption. The $195 reduction in the tax does not help those in states where they are prohibited and still subjects the owner to the burdens of Title II weaponry.

 

[Gunnerpalace]

Some change to the system is better than nothing, and for inquiring minds yes I have read FOPA dose a whole lot of great things. But that was betting on a check you could not cash and now the only hope we have is the Parker case and that might even help the silencer laws if all goes good.

 

[0007]

rkh -
Don't forget the words..."FOR THE CHILDREN." on the end of your retitling.

 

[wdlsguy]

The $195 reduction in the tax does not help those in states where they are prohibited

Then the laws of those states are broken. We need to fix federal problems at the federal level, state problems at the state level.

A $5 (versus $200) making / transfer tax for silencers would be a huge step in the right direction at the federal level.

 

[ServiceSoon]

Maybe we should be supporting the idea that you can't tax or regulate the inalienable right to bear arms. After all, that is what we believe. Instead we need to take baby steps in the right direction. This is a start.

LAR-15: If memory serves you posted this a few months ago. Are we in a better position to get this to passed?

 

[SG Merc]

Sounds good to me. Pass it on up the ladder and see where it goes.

 

[ilcylic]

rkh, 0007: "THE NOISE ABATEMENT & CHILDRENS HEARING PROTECTION ACT OF 2007"

I love it. Especially since I'm thinking about manufacturing a silencer. (Subject to all the constraints of NFA 1934, of course.) I could afford to actually experiment, if they were $5 a pop, as opposed to $200.

'86 MG ban is one of the dumbest things the FedGov has ever done. I'm a tinkerer, by nature. If '86 and '68 and '34 weren't in place, I'd be doing all kinds of weapons research, basically for free, from which the FedGov could benefit.

If we'd had today's laws 100 years ago, John Moses Browning would be a felon, and we might well have lost WWI and WWII. Good thing we're not facing any sort of conflict here in the future. Oh, wait. ****.

 

[Kentak]

Don't give them ideas. They'll try to ban guns as a noise-pollution/hearing safety measure.

K