September 2021 Edition | Volume 75, Issue 9
Published since 1946
Excise Tax Snapshot - 3rd Quarter FY2021
The Wildlife Management Institute (supported by a Multi-State Conservation Grant) provides you with this quarterly snapshot of the excise tax collections to help you understand the health of American System of Conservation Funding. This system of funding was established in the 1930s and expanded and perfected over the next 40+ years. This reliable source of annual funding for state fish and wildlife agencies represents a unique partnership between the agencies and the hunting, shooting sports, angling, and boating industries. In rough national numbers, these excise tax deposits made by the partner industries represent about half the state fish and wildlife agencies’ annual budgets. That said, there are a number of state fish and wildlife agencies that enjoy other sources of funding (i.e., state level appropriations, specific sales tax additions, lottery funds, etc.) Regardless of other funding sources, the funding generated and made available to state agencies is substantial. Therefore, it is imperative to conservation that agencies (from the commissioners down to the field biologists) understand the industry trends and work with these industries to ensure a strong income flow going forward.
The following numbers cover the first three quarters of the 2021 federal fiscal year (October 1, 2020, thru June 30, 2021) and compares those numbers to the collections for the first three quarters of federal fiscal year 2020. These numbers are provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who get them directly from the two collection agencies (the Internal Revenue Service and the Tax and Trade Bureau).
As you review these numbers, one point to keep in mind is the COVID-19 related impacts we have experienced over the last year and a half. As you may recall, the excise tax reporting and paying schedules were “bent” a bit to accommodate taxpayer hardships during the COVID crisis and some of the collection numbers may still be reflecting some of these temporary accommodations. I’m particularly concerned about the fishing equipment and tackle box numbers for April of this year – I’m told these numbers are still self-correcting as projected receipts are replaced with actual collections. We will continue to monitor these numbers.
The collections for the Sport Fish Restoration Account dropped a bit during the third quarter – primarily due to the anomaly in the fishing equipment and tackle box collection numbers for April 2021. That said, the overall numbers showed only a slight decrease in collections of -5%. The big contributors (motorboat and small engine fuel taxes), which make up over 60% of the total were steady over the last quarter. Strong customs collections over the last quarter (+62%) seemed to offset the declines in fishing equipment collections (-66%). Even with the poor collections in April, tackle box collections are still above the first three quarters of 2020 (+34%). Electric boat motors and interest also saw declines (-33% and -17%, respectively). Again, these numbers are all over the board and may reflect some overall COVID related correction – but deserve a second look.
The collections in the Wildlife Restoration Account are exploding! When comparing the first three quarters of 2021 to 2020, there is an overall increase of 130%, with every collection category showing impressive increases. Pistols, Firearms and Ammunition showed increases of 158%, 130% and 115% respectively. The collections for archery were also impressive with Archery Equipment increasing by 81% and Arrow Shafts increasing by 89%.
Following is a closer look at the numbers.
The Sport Fish Restoration Account
The Trends:
Here are the comparisons of the collections for the first three quarters of FY 2020 and FY 2021.
| Trends Between Last and Current Fiscal Years | |||
| Product | FY 2020 (thru Qtr 3) | FY 2021 (thru Qtr 3) | % Change |
| Motorboat Fuel Tax | $200,521,000 | $202,143,000 | 1% |
| Small Engine Fuel Tax | $87,511,000 | $87,837,000 | 0% |
| Interest | $26,970,505 | $22,427,558 | -17% |
| Customs Duties | $39,827,754 | $64,433,394 | 62% |
| Fishing Equipment | $68,676,121 | $23,600,692 | -66% |
| Electronic Boat Motors | $3,916,875 | $2,628,753 | -33% |
| Fishing Tackle Boxes | $554,025 | $740,469 | 34% |
| Fishing Rods and Poles | $13,276,261 | $13,423,838 | 1% |
| Total Sportfish & Boating Restoration | $441,253,541 | $417,234,704 | -5% |
The Funding Sources:
It is always important to understand where these numbers come from, how they relate to past numbers and how the individual funding sources relate to the overall funding available. The following pie-chart shows the importance of funding sources that are not directly related to fishing equipment (motorboat and small engine fuel taxes; customs duties; interest) to the support of state agency’s aquatic conservation efforts (69.5% of the total funding).
Wildlife Restoration Account
The Trends:
Here are the comparisons of the collections for the first three quarters of FY 2020 and FY 2021.
| Trends Between Last and Current Fiscal Years | |||
| Product | FY 2020 (thru Qtr 3) | FY 2021 (thru Qtr 3) | % Change |
| Pistols & Revolvers | $113,033,276 | $291,183,451 | 158% |
| Firearms | $107,240,259 | $246,741,910 | 130% |
| Shells & Cartridges | $117,863,736 | $250,818,053 | 113% |
| Archery Equipment | $20,354,902 | $36,755,031 | 81% |
| Arrow Shafts | $4,883,963 | $9,231,149 | 89% |
| Total Wildlife Restoration | $363,376,136 | $834,729,594 | 130% |
The Funding Sources:
An important piece of information that we must not overlook in this collection data is the source of the funds. Roughly speaking about 7% of the collections are coming from archery. Pistols & revolvers contributed roughly 34%; firearms are adding almost 29%; and 30% is coming from ammunition sales. Those that watch these quarterly summaries closely may have noted that the percentage from pistols and ammunition are creeping up. This is an important bit of information when you think about how important recreational shooting ranges are in the overall model for conservation funding. Here is a pie chart that shows this a bit more dramatically:
Summary:
The Sport Fish numbers continue to be a bit unstable, and we will watch these numbers over the next quarter or two. However, the Wildlife numbers are really spiking for the 2021 Federal Fiscal Year.