The gun debate has been ramping up for years now. As a result of the school shootings happening all over the country, many people have called for banning guns or at least asked for stricter regulations.
Now, another incident in Montana has rattled everyone and is already contributing to the gun ban discussion. The Internal Revenue System (IRS) investigated a gun dealer, which sparked online debates.
However, what has ignited the discussions is not just the raid but the fact that the IRS troops raided a store and confiscated 13 years’ worth of 4473 forms from the owner, Tom Van Hoose. The 4473 form doesn’t contain any financial records. It only has individual gun purchase information. As such, the IRS essentially has the personal information of thousands.
Tom Van Hoose came to work at his Highwood Creek Outfitters, Great Falls, Montana gun store on Wednesday, June 14, and found that IRS agents were there to raid his shop. They presented a warrant to him and stayed there for ten hours to copy financial information on charges of misreporting his income.
The shop had to be closed that day. What surprised the owner was that they also took his last 13 years’ 4473 forms, which didn’t contain financial data and weren’t listed in the warrant.
Why Did IRS Agents Raid a Gun Dealer in Great Falls, Montana?
It has been revealed that the Internal Revenue System (IRS) and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms conducted a surprise raid in a gun store in Great Falls, Montana, called the Highwood Creek Outfitters. Tom Van Hoose, the owner, revealed that 20 armed agents had stepped into his shop, where they spent hours copying and searching records.
They were there with a warrant for his financial records. Van Hoose stated that IRS claimed he had under-reported millions in income. He has denied doing that. Tom also said there is little revenue to be found while running a gun store and range.
Also, he had to close the shop on Wednesday as IRS CID agents stayed there for ten hours to copy all the information from his computers completely.
Also, they downloaded all of his point-of-sale information. The owner stated that he had operated Highwood Creed Outfitters for the last 13 years without any trouble.
The Truth About Guns (TTAG) site reported him saying that the 20 armed agents came from as far as Idaho and Denver and swarmed his gun store when he arrived at his shop for work on June 14, Wednesday morning.
The IRS confirmed that they did investigate Van Hoose’s shop. However, the owner has stated that what concerns him the most is that they also confiscated 4473 forms in the last 13 years. He also mentioned that they copied his firearm acquisition and disposition information. This news is troubling because 4473 documents don’t contain financial or revenue data.
It’s a record stating a firearm purchase and is used to trigger a background check. Also, if necessary, it can help trace a gun’s ownership in case it gets used in a crime. The law requires gun owners to keep the 4473 forms with them for at least two decades. Yet, the agents took them away from Van Hoose. Even more eyebrow-raising is that these weren’t listed on the warrant either.
Van Hoose has contacted the ATF Area Supervisor in Helena, Montana, Kirk Nelson. Apparently, Nelson initially informed him that he did not need to give away the 4473 forms since there wasn’t any financial information on them. However, after talking to the IRS people, the ATF supervisor told the owner to give them the 4473 forms.
Tom estimates that his store has generated between 1500 and 2000 of such 4473 forms every year. Currently, the IRS has thousands of gun sales records with them. Apparently, Special Agent and Public Information Officer, IRS Karen Gurgel termed the raid as official business and stated that the owner had been handed a receipt of the records confiscated from him.
Van Hoose has confirmed that the receipt does list the 4473 forms. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Congressman Matt Rosendale visited Highwood Creek Outfitters on Friday. He wrote to ATF Director Steven Dettelback and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to learn more about the situation. Here’s what he wrote:
“Under Director Dettelbach’s leadership of the ATF, a pattern of intimidation and harassment against hardworking Americans has emerged – Montanans will not tolerate these political witch hunts. I remind both Director Dettelbach and Commissioner Werfel that Congress has the power of the purse, and I will ensure that funding for these agencies is not weaponized against the American people.”
Here’s the tweet with the full letter:
Other prominent politicians have also questioned the raid. Van Hoose has stated that his shop has been running since Thursday, June 15. He plans to fight the IRS to get the 4473 forms back and to bear the legal costs; he will soon open a GiveSendGo campaign. More information is yet to come.
What do you think about the raid by IRS?
Was the confiscation of the 4473s weird? Is there something more to the matter than just a routine investigation? Why were the agents so heavily armed?
Let us know in the comments below.
Source: The Truth About Guns
1 Comment
This is bad reporting. The forms were confiscated because they are proof of a gun sale and can/will be compared with POS and tax records to see if everything matches. Take off your tinfoil hats.