By Joe Bartozzi
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- Wildlife conservation in the United States is seeing another windfall, thanks to the firearm and ammunition industry.
NSSF announced that firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid a record-setting $300,498,588.23 in the first quarter of 2022. That’s the most-ever firearm and ammunition excise tax for the first quarter of any year and brings the total contributions to the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes to over $15.3 billion since the fund was established in 1937.
The latest Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Collection report released by the Department of Treasury indicates that firearm and ammunition manufacturers reported tax liabilities are up 1.2 percent over the same time period reported in 2021. The report, which covers the time period of Jan. 1 through March 31, 2022, shows that $103.4 million was due in taxes for Pistols and Revolvers, $88.4 million for Firearms (other)/ Long Guns, and $108.7 million for Ammunition (shells and cartridges).
Conservation Leader
This is proof, yet again, that the firearm industry is a leader in wildlife conservation. These 10 to 11 percent excise tax dollars collected since 1937 under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act are designated to be used by state wildlife agencies for conservation. It is one of the few taxes that are in a government “lockbox.” The excise taxes collected do not go into the general fund but are set apart for wildlife conservation purposes.
The tax is currently administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in the Treasury Department, which turns the funds over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS then deposits the PR
