What is the effective date of the repeal of NFA taxes (if not of the NFA itself?
SEC. 70436. REDUCTION OF TRANSFER AND MANUFACTURING TAXES FOR CERTAIN DEVICES.
TRANSFER TAX.–Section 5811(a) is amended to read as follows:
”(a) RATE.–There shall be levied, collected, and paid on firearms transferred a tax at the rate of–
”(1) $200 for each firearm transferred in the case of a machinegun or a destructive device, and
”(2) $0 for any firearm transferred which is not described in paragraph (1).”.
1 455 (b) MAKING TAX.–Section 5821(a) is amended to read as follows:
”(a) RATE.–There shall be levied, collected, and paid upon the making of a firearm a tax at the rate of–
”(1) $200 for each firearm made in the case of a machinegun or a destructive device, and
”(2) $0 for any firearm made which is not described in paragraph (1).”.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.–Section 4182(a) is amended by adding at the end the following: ”For purposes of the preceding sentence, any firearm described in section 5811(a)(2) shall be deemed to be a firearm on which the tax provided by section 5811 has been paid.”
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.–The amendments made by this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
By that standard, the new law goes into effect on January 1 (enacted and signed into law July 4, 90 days from that October 2, two days into the third quarter, fourth quarter begins January 1).
In related news, GoA and others have brought a lawsuit challenging the registration requirements that remain. It will pose some interesting issues. NFA was based upon the taxing power (in 1934, there was a lot of doubt about how far Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce extended, and could it reach simple possession of an item inside a state). Now that Congress has repealed the tax, can it still require registration? I have no idea, this is 100% new ground. I cannot think of another case where there is no tax, but still a requirement to file a tax return. Nor of one where a law enacted under the taxing power had the tax repealed. Can the government now shift to arguing the tax return requirement is justified under the Commerce Clause, when Congress did not invoke that authority? This may be the first time that question has been asked.