Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act updates Internal Revenue Code section 4162. For specified marketplace sales of taxable sporting goods articles, the marketplace provider is treated as the importer and seller for section 4161 excise tax purposes. A specified sale involves a marketplace provider that hosts or facilitates listings or advertisements, collects receipts from the purchaser and transmits proceeds, and involves an article transported to the United States from abroad in connection with the sale where the manufacturer is not the marketplace provider. The bill closes a collection gap for imported sporting goods sold through online marketplaces.
Who Benefits and How
Domestic sporting goods manufacturers benefit if online marketplaces cannot avoid excise tax collection on imported competing goods. Federal taxpayers benefit because marketplace providers become responsible for collecting sporting-goods excise taxes on covered imports. Wildlife conservation programs benefit indirectly because sporting-goods excise taxes support conservation funding streams. Traditional importers benefit from more equal tax treatment with marketplace-facilitated imports.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Online marketplace providers must calculate, collect, and remit sporting-goods excise taxes as treated importers and sellers. Foreign sporting goods sellers face more tax compliance through marketplace collection. The Internal Revenue Service must administer marketplace-provider liability under section 4161. Marketplace compliance teams must identify taxable sporting good articles transported into the United States.
Key Provisions
- Amends section 4162 to treat marketplace providers as importers and sellers for specified sporting-goods sales.
- Applies to taxable sporting goods transported into the United States in connection with marketplace sales.
- Defines marketplace providers by listing facilitation and payment collection functions.
- Improves excise tax collection for imported sporting goods sold through online marketplaces.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Treats marketplace providers as importers and sellers for sporting-goods excise tax purposes when they facilitate specified marketplace sales of taxable sporting goods transported into the United States.
Key Policy Areas
Tax, E-Commerce, Sporting Goods
Primary Purpose
Treats marketplace providers as importers and sellers for sporting-goods excise tax purposes when they facilitate specified marketplace sales of taxable sporting goods transported into the United States.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Domestic sporting goods manufacturers
- Federal taxpayers
- Wildlife conservation programs
- Traditional importers
Identified Costs
- Online marketplace providers
- Foreign sporting goods sellers
- Internal Revenue Service
- Marketplace compliance teams
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Panetta (for himself, Mr. Moore of Utah, Mr. Carter …
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Foreign sporting goods sellers, Online marketplace providers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology