Brady Condemns Hidden Handout to Gun Industry Executives in Trump Tax Bill

Trump’s "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" eliminates a longstanding tax on gun silencers, costing the government $1.5 billion over a decade to line the pockets of gun industry executives. 

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 14, 2025 — Today, Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, sounds the alarm on a dangerous new provision buried in President Trump’s reconciliation bill: a massive tax break for gun manufacturers. This provision eliminates the $200 transfer tax on silencers — a vital public safety measure that has existed since Congress passed the National Firearms Act (NFA) in 1934. The proposed tax break for silencers would go straight to the pockets of gun manufacturers, cost $1.5 billion in revenue over the next decade, and increase the proliferation of dangerous silencers throughout our communities. 

These deadly accessories have been used in targeted, assassination-style murders, including mass shootings. The ATF recovered and traced over 400 silencers from violent crime scenes in 2023 alone. Silencers enable criminals to elude law enforcement and raise the risk of ambush attacks in which a shooter may escape before someone can even call the police. Almost 100 years ago, Congress enacted this tax for weapons with extreme lethality and common use in crime. And for almost 100 years, this $200 tax has remained undisturbed.

The House Ways & Means Committee hid this dangerous provision in the large reconciliation bill, marked up in early morning hours, so that it can fly under the radar of the American people before they grasp its deadly consequences. Brady urges lawmakers to reject this provision and put constituent’s lives over gun industry executive profits.

Brady President Kris Brown, said:

Put simply, Trump’s allies in Congress are subsidizing the sale of devices that make mass shootings deadlier and harder to stop. This is a stunning betrayal of American safety. 

This provision would cost the government $1.5 billion over a decade to line the pockets of gun industry executives. This comes just weeks after the Trump Administration slashed hundreds of millions in funding for local gun violence prevention and crime reduction programs, leaving communities across the country in devastation.

Make no mistake: this tax bill isn’t about budget efficiency. This is about rewarding the gun industry and making it easier for people — including those who are dangerous and those who are allies to President Trump — to get their hands on deadly weapons and devices. This is a political gift. And the cost? American lives.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), gun owner and Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said:

At a time when Republicans are taking health care and food away from millions of Americans, they are spending $1.4 billion dollars to make firearm silencers cheaper. This makes our communities less safe and makes it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.