CALIFORNIA ESCAPES NEW FEDERAL GUN TAX
FBI To Levy Tax By End Of Year

Only 20 States Exempted   $13Ð$16 Applies to
Retail Gun Sales

Under the general banner of crime reduction, and citing the Brady law for its authority, the FBI plans to tax the retail sale of handguns and long guns, starting Nov. 30, if their new computer systems are ready in time. The proposed tax could generate $1 million per week nationally, based on the bureau's estimates. Detailed information is included in a report just issued by Phoenix-based Bloomfield Press, a book publisher specializing in gun law [Ed.: Summary of Findings on request and website].

Perhaps more significant than a surprising new tax from the Justice DepartmentÑwithout any apparent Congressional approvalÑis the FBI's announced plans to record complete identifying information on every person who purchases a firearm from a licensed dealer. Any regulation that requires such recording has been prohibited under the McClure-Volkmer Act since 1986. Neither the tax nor the gun-buyer registration scheme appear to be legal, according to Alan Korwin, co-author of The California Gun Owner's Guide. Korwin has written seven books on gun law. His California guide, released in February, has all the state's gun laws and is his latest.

The federal registration and tax plan are being rolled out under the guise of the National Instant Check System, required when Part 1 of the Brady law expires this year. Under Brady Part 2, all retail handgun and long gun sales will have to run through the system, which the FBI has based at its Clarksburg, W. Va., data center. They are hiring 500 people to handle the anticipated load.

The FBI intends to waive the tax for any state that sets up an FBI-approved central firearms clearance center. California's background check system has been approved, placing its state police under a degree of FBI control. In other states, each dealer will have to "enroll" with the FBI to legally make a sale, and pay the tax on every purchase. The Bureau will accept credit cards or will arrange to bill dealers, and those who don't pay (or are real late on the invoice) will be literally out of business. Several authorities have indicated that they expect enough clamor from the taxed dealers to compel their states to comply. When 100 Arizona dealers were told at a government meeting in June, that they would not be taxed, they cheered, apparently oblivious to the implications of federalizing their local police.

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California Gun Owner's Guide