Title: Hearing Protection Act of 2017
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Hearing Protection Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a transfer tax on a silencer after January 9, 2017, may receive a refund of such tax.
The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 59 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 59

      To provide that silencers be treated the same as long guns.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 9, 2017

    Mr. Crapo (for himself, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Paul) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To provide that silencers be treated the same as long guns.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hearing Protection Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. EQUAL TREATMENT OF SILENCERS AND FIREARMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ``(7) any silencer'' and all that follows 
through ``; and (8)'' and inserting ``and (7)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendment made by this section shall 
        take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Transfers.--In the case of the tax imposed by section 
        5811 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the amendment made 
        by this section shall apply with respect to transfers after 
        January 9, 2017.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN SILENCERS.

    Section 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Firearm Silencers.--A person acquiring or possessing a 
firearm silencer in accordance with chapter 44 of title 18, United 
States Code, shall be treated as meeting any registration and licensing 
requirements of the National Firearms Act (as in effect on the day 
before the date of the enactment of this subsection) with respect to 
such silencer.''.

SEC. 4. PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATE LAWS IN RELATION TO FIREARM 
              SILENCERS.

    Section 927 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a 
law of a State or a political subdivision of a State that, as a 
condition of lawfully making, transferring, using, possessing, or 
transporting a firearm silencer in or affecting interstate or foreign 
commerce, imposes a tax on any such conduct, or a marking, 
recordkeeping, or registration requirement with respect to the firearm 
silencer, shall have no force or effect.''.
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