Why It Matters: The American System of Conservation funding is a highly successful model unique to the rest of the world. The Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration component of the model provides more than $1.3 billion in funding for fish and wildlife conservation each year through excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing tackle, and motorboat fuels. However, some foreign manufacturers are evading the excise tax requirements through direct-to-consumer sales. Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Rep. Jimmy Panetta and CSC Member Rep. Blake Moore, along with a number of bipartisan House Members, are leading an effort to close this loophole and protect the most successful conservation funding strategy ever devised.
Highlights:
- The excise taxes on fishing and archery equipment that in part fund the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Programs are a critical component of conservation funding in the U.S.
- Many consumers aren’t aware that, if they buy archery and fishing equipment directly from foreign sellers via U.S. online marketplaces, they may be responsible for these taxes.
- It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars in excise tax revenues are currently being avoided through these transactions, and that volume is expected to grow over time.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has been working with the sportfishing and archery industry trade associations and Members of the CSC to find a solution.
Last week, CSC Co-Chair Congressman Jimmy Panetta and CSC Member Rep. Blake Moore introduced the Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act, a bill to close a loophole that allows foreign manufacturers of fishing and archery equipment to evade conservation excise taxes by selling direct to consumers in the United States. It is estimated that the growth in online sales from manufacturers in foreign countries has result in the loss of tens of millions of dollars each year for the WSFR Programs, a critical component of the American System of Conservation funding.
“Protecting the integrity of the American System of Conservation is vital to the abundant fish and wildlife resources we enjoy here in the U.S.,” said CSF President and CEO, Jeff Crane. “This successful partnership between manufacturers, sportsmen and women, and state and federal agencies is a conservation funding model unique to the rest of the world and one CSF has worked to protect since we were founded. We appreciate Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Representative Jimmy Panetta and CSC Member Representative Blake Moore for their leadership in addressing the erosion of conservation funding by some foreign companies.”
A study published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last summer acknowledge the importance of the excise taxes on fishing and archery equipment for fish and wildlife conservation while also highlighting the challenges with collecting these taxes when products are sold direct to consumers via electronic commerce. To fix the problem, the GAO recommended that Congress make U.S. online marketplaces responsible for the sport fishing and archery excise taxes on consumer import sales in which they are involved.
The Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act will do just that, and CSF looks forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to get this important legislation through the process and signed into law.
