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The
IRS is Going to Require All Firearms to be Listed on Income Tax Returns-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor: This
story is that Congress is considering legislation that will require
all firearms that a person owns be listed on that person's personal
income tax return. Additionally, it may require fingerprints
and tax of $50 per gun. This is said to be in SB2099, a bill
in the United States Senate.
The Truth:
This
is either a misreading of the actual bill or an intentional misrepresentation
of it.
SB2099 is known as the "Handgun Safety and Registration Act of
2000." As of this writing, it has not been passed
into law and gun-control opponents say it probably won't be.
TruthOrFiction.com has reviewed some of the history and the text of
the bill as well as a portion of the IRS code it seeks to amend.
The bill would amend the National Firearms Act (NFA) to require
registration of handguns in the same way as machine guns and
short-barrel weapons. That process would include photographs,
background checks, fingerprinting, and restrictions on interstate
transport. It would also require a $5 tax for transferring
ownership and a $50 tax per gun on gunmakers.
Nothing in the law requires gun owners to list their guns on their
income tax returns. That confusion may come from the fact that
the law refers to the Internal Revenue Service, but only because the
act it seeks to amend, the NFA, is a part of the Internal Revenue
Service Code.
Also, there is language in the bill that refers to
"return" information, but that isn't about personal income
taxes. It is about a database of gun registration information
which this bill would seek to allow law enforcement agencies to
access online.
Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2000 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or own. It may require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun.
This bill was introduced on Feb. 24. This bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law. This is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance Committee can pass this without the Senate voting on it at all.
The full text of the proposed amendment is on the U.S. Senate homepage, http://www.senate.gov/ You can find the bill by doing a search by the bill number, SB-2099.
You know who to call; I strongly suggest you do. Please send a copy of this e-mail to every gun owner you know to help STOP this bill!!
