Since being enacted in 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Act has generated over $15 billion in funding which represents almost 70% of state wildlife funding. Always thought to be one of the untouchable taxes because of what it has done for habitat and wildlife recovery in the United States, it has finally come under attack with “The Return Act” being proposed through Congress in 2022.
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Unbeknownst to most, all gun manufacturers, including SIG SAUER, pay an 11% Federal Excise Tax on rifles and ammo and 10% on handguns that then gets sent to the US Treasury and redistributed to the States as a result of the Pittman Robertson Act. These taxes, although paid by the manufacturer, are ultimately generated by the sportsman and gun owners that are purchasing firearms in the United States. Given the surge of firearms ownership over the last couple of years, Pittman Robertson funding for wildlife agencies has been at an all-time high.
So, as a firearms manufacturer, the “Return Act,” the idea to remove the federal excise tax on manufacturers, sounds like a no-brainer, right? Less taxes? From SIG SAUER’s perspective, it’s not. Looking back in time to wildlife numbers prior to this legislation, the populations of animals were decimated, and the world was a different place.
In this video, SIG SAUER worked with Blood Origins to explain whether you are a manufacturer or a firearms owner, this tax is the one tax we can all stand united behind because it has, and continues to sustain and make available to everyone, including the future generations, incredible wildlife, incredible landscape, as well their habitats to make where we live a better place.
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