Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado introduced the Freedom from Taxes Act on May 20, building directly on this Congress's earlier suppressor and short-barreled rifle tax repeal to zero out the two remaining $200 National Firearms Act transfer taxes — those covering machine guns and destructive devices. Gun Owners of America announced its endorsement the same day, with GOA framing the introduction as a fitting milestone on the 40th anniversary week of the Hughes Amendment becoming law.

The legislation, which lists Reps. Scott DesJarlais, Barry Moore, Thomas Massie, and Eric Burlison as original cosponsors, amends the Internal Revenue Code at Sections 5811 and 5821 by replacing the figure "$200" with "$0" for NFA transfer and making taxes applicable to machine guns and destructive devices. The bill would also eliminate the Special Occupational Tax paid annually by Class 2 and Class 3 federal firearms licensees — the dealers and manufacturers authorized to handle NFA-regulated automatic weapons for military and law enforcement customers. SOT fees currently run $500 to $1,000 per year per license class, a recurring cost that falls entirely on the licensed industry rather than on the end buyer.

The Freedom from Taxes Act follows directly from H.R. 1, which Congress passed earlier this term and zeroed out transfer taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any-other-weapons. AmmoLand News reported that Boebert's office described the new bill as completing the NFA tax repeal that H.R. 1 started. Bearing Arms noted that while the Hughes Amendment — which ended civilian registration of new machine guns in 1986 — remains in effect and is not addressed by this legislation, eliminating the SOT provides immediate, tangible relief to licensed manufacturers who produce automatic weapons under government contracts and who pay the tax regardless of annual transfer volume. The NRA joined GOA in supporting the bill.

NFA transfers of the roughly 175,000 registered pre-1986 civilian machine guns currently on the registry average $10,000 to $60,000 in market value per unit, dwarfing the $200 tax. For registry buyers the tax is a minor line item, but for the Class 3 dealer and Class 2 manufacturer community that underwrites the NFA ecosystem through SOT fees, the proposed elimination is a meaningful operating cost reduction. The bill has been referred to committee. No markup or floor vote has been scheduled. Watch for activity when the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance resumes its firearms docket in June.