The Truth about F.E.T. Taxes on Sporting Gear

Most people don't know that when you buy fishing (fly fishing too) gear, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gets a percentage of the sales price of each item in that little know tax arena of Federal Excise Tax (F.E.T.). FET was created in the 1930's to "gather" some revenue from new technologies and capabilities that were growing in popularity. One you might be familiar with was the FET taxes on your telephone calls that were recently repealed. The truth is, the taxes on this gear are for a worthwhile cause and most manufacturers build the tax into their price structure. So, for those of you that are interested, any fly fishing tackle is taxed at 10% of the retail or wholesale price of the item. On fly rods, the tax is limited to $10.00 per item, so that $1,000 Sage is still only $10.00 in FET tax. Ha, doesn't seem fair to the lower end rod guys who still pay $10.00 in tax on their $100.00 fly rod. Fly boxes are 3% of the retail/wholesale price of the item. So, when you buy a $300 fly rod, a $149 reel, a line kit with line, backing, leaders and tippet for $50 and a $25 fly box with a $12 price on a dozen flies, the manufacturer (or importer) has to pay $10.00 for the rod, $14.90 for the reel, $5.00 for the line kit, only .75 cents on the fly box but $1.20 for the flies. Grand total? $31.85 in FET taxes. Where do these taxes go? They go to support federal wildlife programs and fisheries research and funding. I think we all understand the necessity of taxes for services but I don't think everyone knows about the FET taxes. Weigh in with your thoughts. Fair or Foul? You make the call.