Boebert Files Bill to Strip Federal Excise Tax on Machine Guns
Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced legislation in 2026 targeting the 11 percent federal excise tax imposed on automatic weapons. The Freedom from Taxes Act of 2026 aims to eliminate this tax entirely, removing one regulatory burden layered atop existing restrictions on NFA firearms. Gun Owners of America immediately endorsed the bill, framing it as a direct legal and policy challenge to the Hughes Amendment—the 1986 law that banned civilian ownership of machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986.
Key Details
- Rep. Boebert's bill targets the 11 percent federal excise tax on automatic weapons and NFA firearms
- Gun Owners of America endorsed the Freedom from Taxes Act of 2026 as official policy
- The Hughes Amendment, passed in 1986, remains the primary barrier to civilian automatic weapon ownership
- The tax affects purchasers of pre-1986 registered machine guns, suppressors, and other Title II firearms
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
This bill signals a shift in strategy from the hardline 2A organizations. Rather than attacking Hughes directly—a political impossibility in current Congress—backers are peeling back the tax layer that makes pre-1986 machine gun ownership economically unviable for most shooters. A registered M16 or MAC-10 already costs $8,000 to $15,000 on the secondary market. The 11 percent excise tax adds another $880 to $1,650. Removing that burden would make automatic weapons legally available to more gun owners, even while Hughes remains technically law. Carry owners in suppressor-friendly states may see immediate relief on tax costs for hearing-protection devices.
DownRange Analysis
This is smart play. GOA understands that Hughes cannot fall without a SCOTUS decision matching Bruen's plain-text originalism—and that decision isn't coming this term. Taxing a right into irrelevance is unconstitutional under Bruen logic, though no court has yet applied that reasoning to the excise tax. The real value here isn't passage—GOP House control doesn't guarantee this moves—but establishing case law language. If this bill gets debate, it creates a record that automatic weapons taxation violates the Second Amendment as clarified by Bruen. That record matters when the next 2A case lands before the Court. Gun owners should support it anyway. Even symbolic legislative pressure on NFA costs shifts the conversation.
