Federal Excise tax on archery

[Roadkill]

What's the scoop?  I heard on NPR some changes were coming to FET on archery shafts.  Anyone have details and when can we get that 11% back?

[vermonster13]

Take a look in the Hunting Issues and Politics Forum. There is a long thread on the 11% (it's not just archery equipment). We get it back right now.

[Shakes.602]

The Condition of Our Economy Right Now, We may Get Or Lose Anything!  ANARCHY I SAY!!      

[Killdeer]

[JEFF B]

its sad times we live in aint it just.

[Killdeer]

It's sad if we forget (and you have an excuse, Kiwi, being a furriner) who pays for wildlife and habitat conservation in the US, and how these taxes got started, and the pride that we should be feeling as responsible hunters. Yeah, I gripe about the price of equipment, but the money for Pittman-Robertson is the  only  tax I feel OK about paying.

Killdeer

[dino]

Copied from the IRS website:


"Changes Effective for the First Quarter of 2008


Arrow Shafts
The tax on arrow shafts (IRS No. 106) is $.43 per arrow shaft."

It goes up 1 cent per year.  Don't know if there is a cap. dino

[TonyW]

So is anybody surprised that the IRS gives us the shaft?

The good news?

43 cents is worth about a nickel.

(Today Bush tried to tax the air - he really tried to tax the air space so airlines would fly the same number of planes in off peak hours!)

[Shakes.602]

Didnt they JUST GOUGE The Arrow Shafts Not Long Ago?  Thats why we got the $300 Econo-BOOST??
THEN The Market takes a Belly-UP. Whatever......

[buckeye_hunter]

Killdeer,
Your knowledge exceeds mine. What is the Pittman-Robertson tax?

Shakes,
I'm nearly there with you, but I just want to replace the current governing body with a whole lot of people that understand what it means to earn a dollar!

It would be nice if I could sue the government for every tax dollar I have had to pay to fund God knows what.  Then, take that money and give it to a decent citizen who has hit bad straights or buy some kid a bow and arrows.  If everyone did that, we would all be better off.  Currently, we are facing taxation without representation because we are constantly ignored by our representatives. Another Boston Tea Party maybe?

I hope they aren't raising any more taxes on hunting goods...especially arrows.

Just my ramblings & odd opinions,
-Charlie

[vermonster13]

Info can be found here.

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=93;t=000312

[dino]

Shakes, you might take a read on what the tax is for.  It is a sportsmans tax for wildlife and there are a lot of contributors not just archers and wood arrow shooter.  It is not an unfair tax, just unfairly distributed.  It is our part as sportsman to pay this tax to support the land, outdoor programs and such that we love.

Secondly, I found this morning what Roadkill was refering too which is awsome news to say the least.  Part of the senates new bail out plan that they passed last night was a provision to cut some taxes and one to reduce the tax on WOODEN YOUTH ARROWS.  For those that have been involved in this fight for the last several years that is phenominal news.  For those who may not know, when the FET tax was revised a couple of years back from a percentage to a flat tax wood youth arrows took an unfair burden of the tax.  The cost of the tax of shaft was greater than the cost of the shaft itself which cause prices of wooden youth arrows to soar.  For example, if a 5/16 youth dowel cost 40 cents, the tax is currently 43 cents making the wholesale cost of shaft more than double and really putting a burden on those that were trying to make, sell and buy wood youth arrows.  I haven't found all of the details yet, but will post when I do. dino

[jack benson]

Sec. 503 of the Senate bailout bill will eliminate the excise tax on wooden shafts for children's arrows (5/16" or less). The section does not state elimination of the tax for other components. The pdf of the bill is available at a number of sites...search and read section 503.

Pork for everyone....

[Roadkill]

tHAT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING-ONLY FOR SAMALLER DIAMETER SHAFTS-but we do a lot of kids stuff and that'll help parents get kids into shooting cheaper.
I agree with the taxes being used for "off" wildlife purposes.

Hard to blame one party or another-they are all complicit and defend themselves before they cater to our needs.  Current financial crisis did not start with this current adminsitration-did not help it, but did not start there.  plenty of blame. maybe we should start over and elect nobody this session, have fewer of them dictating what's good for us, and then not elect anyone in the next cycle.  In the old days peopel had to own a business or farm to be elected-corporate raiders need not apply.
at least we get a break on kids arrows.

[Paul Mattson]

All Arrows and Shafts are taxed @ .43 per shaft or which comes to $5.16 per dozen. In 2004 the IRS no longer taxed bows with draw wts. of 30lbs or less. But, they failed to include the arrows for these bows.  Now with this new bill shafts 5/16 or less AND that can only be shot from bows 30 lbs or less.

Did you also know that Fred Bear was a big supporter of getting Archery equipment taxed(Pittman-Robertson act). In his version of the bill he used the word "shall" as in .1% of the tax shall be used by states to promote Archery, for public ranges and schools. But here is the kicker, Just before the vote someone changed the word to "may"...and now you know the rest of the story.

[VA Bowbender]

Originally posted by buckeye_hunter:
Killdeer,
Your knowledge exceeds mine. What is the Pittman-Robertson tax?

Charlie

UNDERSTANDING / IMPORTANCE
OF PITTMAN - ROBERTSON ACT
 ... The funding of America's war on wildlife became even less democratic       when the federal government entered the picture.

     In 1937, Congress passed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Resoration Act,    better known as the Pittman-Robertson Act. This law placed an 11 percent excise tax on rifles, shotguns and ammunition.

     In 1970, Congress amended the act to include a 10 percent tax on handguns and archery equipment.

     Like hunting license fees, Pittman-Robertson revenues do not go into the general treasury; they go directly to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where,
by law, they must be apportioned to the states according to a formula that depends on the amount of land a state has set aside for conservation purposes
and the number of hunting licenses the state sells.

     The state must then use these funds for conservation related activities
including hunting and hunter education. The statute also contains a provision requiring states to dedicate their hunting licenses revenues to the operation
of the state wildlife agency in order to be eligible to receive Pittman-Robertson
money.

     It is estimated that nationwide, less than 10 percent of the budgets of state wildlife agencies comes from income taxes, general sales taxes, or other forms
of across-the-board taxation. A minuscule amount comes from donations, bequests, product sales, and other limited sources; while the remainder comes from licenses fees and revenues from the Pittman-Robertson Act and a companion law relating to sport fishing.

    Since the first payouts in 1939, states have received a total of $4.4 billion
in Pittman-Robertson funds. Fiscal year 2003 payouts totaled $213 million, an all-time high, and up from $189 million in fiscal year 2002.

     From 1937 until 1970, the bulk of Pittman-Robertson taxes were, in fact,
paid by hunters. But when Congress covered handguns under the Act, the situation changed dramatically.

    According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2001 only 13 million American hunted. How many Americans own legal firearms is not known with any precision, but most estimates place that number at between 65 and 70 million, all of whom paid the Pittman-Robertson tax.

    For more than three decades, only a small portion of Pittman-Robertson money has come from hunters. The majority has been paid by target shooters, collectors, and people who buy guns for protection.

     Although hunters still like to brag about bearing the burden of conservation, the truth is that hunters do not pay their own way.      

     Since 1970, they have hitched a free ride on the backs of gun owners who do not hunt.

     The Pittman-Robertson Act is public welfare for hunters.s.

[dino]

Bowbender, thanks for posting that.  Most articles on FET are pretty long, that one hits all of the highlights.  Very Cool!!

[dino]

Just found this:

An Oregon arrow maker suffers slings of outrage
by Amy Hsuan and Charles Pope, The Oregonian
Friday October 03, 2008, 8:50 PM


An Oregon company selling a 30-cent shaft for children's arrows became a bull's-eye for critics of congressional pork nationwide Friday, when lawmakers eliminated an arcane tax as part of their $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.

It is a tax, generating just $1 million a year nationwide, that few knew existed until the exemption provision gained attention on Web sites and national talk shows. The critics gathered force, and the tiny company based in southern Oregon's Myrtle Point found itself the surprising flash point for public venting against a bailout package with costs too vast for most citizens to grasp.


Rose City Archery
Talk-show hosts and callers vented against eliminating a tax on children's arrow shafts, such as these produced by Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point.

Rose City Archery owner Jerry Dishion found his company's name smeared across Web sites such as Dealbreaker and among lists of "sweeteners" circulated by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group in Washington. The company makes an arrow shaft for kids learning archery, hardly the type of business that would conjure up images of a powerful lobby.

As of Friday, Dishion received more than 100 phone calls, 40 e-mails and hate mail from people across the country, not to mention phone calls from the BBC and mentions on the Bill O'Reilly talk show.

Dishion says the provision wasn't a tax break for his company as the critics have claimed. It was a tax repeal that corrected a mistake in the taxation of the little-known arrow industry.

"This is just righting a wrong," Dishion said. "We've been fielding all the phone calls and trying to explain what the situation is. Some of them get it. Some of them don't want to get it. They should be saying thank you."

The flap reveals the misinformation circulating about what the 43-cent tax repeal is really about, according to Jay McAninch, president of the Archery Trade Association. "It's amazing how complicated a little tax could be," McAninch said. "And how few people understand it. The fact of the matter is it's an important tax bill for a needed program. This isn't a pork barrel."

The tax became a problem for Rose City and a handful of other companies in 2004, when lawmakers, while trying to correct another problem with the arrow tax, changed a 12 percent tax on all arrows to a flat 43-cent tax on arrow shafts. The tax, which got tacked on to every arrow shaft, goes to fund educational programs put on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The change hit the youth archery market particularly hard, doubling the cost of arrows used by kids. That's the lowest-cost segment of the archery market and just a small part of the nation's $500 million archery industry.

Rose City Archery's wooden arrow shafts sell for 30 cents. The 43-cent tax took a huge toll on its youth archery business, Dishion said. The company also manufactures adult hunting arrows that retail for about $12.

In 2004, Dishion said, the company sold 1 million arrow shafts. This year, the company sold 100,000.

"When the price of the arrow doubled, the Boy Scouts, the summer camps, the school programs started canceling archery programs," Dishion said.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith worked for years to remove the excise tax from children's arrows.

Even so, aides to both senators said they did not lobby to have the arrow provision included in the financial rescue bill that President Bush signed into law. And regardless of the merits of Dishion's case, children's arrows and, by extension, his company have been thrust into the uncomfortable position as symbols of special interest greed.

David White, owner of Utah-based Cajun Archery, said the tax put many arrow makers out of business.

"We are not opposed to the excise tax, but it was never intended to tax a children's product of any kind," White said. "I feel disturbed that people thought we were getting our unfair share, but if the package is supposed to save jobs and jump-start Main Street, we're an example of that."

The wooden arrow provision was mentioned several times in a critical light on the House floor Friday prior to the vote. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, mentioned the arrows and another tax break for the makers of rum as reasons for his decision to vote against the package.

Still, LaTourette said, "I guess this means we'll be getting the pirate vote."

From there the anger and incredulous realization spread.

"Money for wooden arrows for children? I don't understand that," a caller to C-Span complained immediately after the vote.

Founded in Portland, relocates to southern Oregon
Started in 1932, Rose City Archery was originally founded in Portland, which gave the company its name. The company relocated to southern Oregon in the 1940s.

Dishion, an archer and writer for hunting magazines, bought the company 15 years ago, after visiting on assignment.

Dishion moved the company to Myrtle Point, nestled in the Coquille Valley. All the Port Orford cedar he needs to make arrow shafts lies within 15 miles of his shop. The new location reduced the cost of transporting wood, Dishion says.

"What this shows is that one person can affect legislation in this country," Dishion said. "Yay for America."