(RepublicanDaily.org) – If Republican senators have their way, purchasing guns could become much more affordable after a number of legislators put forward a new bill seeking the abolition of transfer taxes on certain firearms.
Called the Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises (RIFLE) Act, the bill seeks to remove the “burdensome tax” levied on gun purchases on certain firearms that are regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA), such as fully automatic firearms, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors, and a certain blanket category of explosives. According to Republican Arkansas Senator Cotton, who introduced the bill, the law is outdated and needs to be changed. The NFA, which was passed in 1934, imposed a $200 tax on the firearms defined in the RIFLE Act. Today, that tax would amount to more than $4,500.
Cotton was joined by Republican Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming, John Cornyn of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida. A companion bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson.
According to the Arkansas Senator, the law only benefits Americans who lawfully practice their Second Amendment rights. The RIFLE Act also does not change any of the existing gun ownership checks required for purchasing and registering firearms. It only does away with what Cotton called “unnecessary” taxes on law-abiding gun ownership.
Hinson agreed, stressing that taxes such as the one levied by the NFA is a “direct violation” of Second Amendment rights, at the same time chiding President Joe Biden and the Democrats for unfairly targeting lawful gun owners through unconstitutional gun legislation.
The RIFLE Act is also being supported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Rifle Association.
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