Republican Bill Seeks to Repeal 90-Year-Old Federal Gun Tax

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....