518
Opinion of Souter, J.
tax offenses"); 26 U. S. C. §§ 7201, 7203 (criminalizing willful evasion of taxes and willful failure to file a return). Making a firearm without approval may be subject to criminal sanction, as is possession of an unregistered firearm and failure to pay the tax on one, 26 U. S. C. §§ 5861, 5871. It is proper, therefore, to apply the rule of lenity and resolve the ambiguity in Thompson/Center's favor. See Crandon v. United States, 494 U. S. 152, 168 (1990) (applying lenity in interpreting a criminal statute invoked in a civil action); Commissioner v. Acker, 361 U. S. 87, 91 (1959).9 Accordingly, we conclude that the Contender pistol and carbine kit when packaged together by Thompson/Center have not been "made" into a short-barreled rifle for purposes of the NFA.10 The judgment of the Court of Appeals is therefore
Affirmed.
9 The Government has urged us to defer to an agency interpretation contained in two longstanding Revenue Rulings. Even if they were entitled to deference, neither of the rulings, Rev. Rul. 61-45, 1961-1 Cum. Bull. 663, and Rev. Rul. 61-203, 1961-2 Cum. Bull. 224 (same), goes to the narrow question presented here, addressing rather the question whether pistols with short barrels and attachable shoulder stocks are short-barreled rifles. We do not read the Government to be relying upon Rev. Rul. 54-606, 1954-2 Cum. Bull. 33, which was repealed as obsolete in 1972, Rev. Rul. 72-178, 1972-1 Cum. Bull. 423, and which contained broader language that "possession or control of sufficient parts to assemble an operative firearm . . . constitutes the possession of a firearm." Reply Brief for United States 10.
10 Justice Stevens contends that lenity should not be applied because this is a " 'tax statute,' " post, at 526, rather than a "criminal statute," see post, at 525, n. 1, quoting Crandon v. United States, 494 U. S. 152, 168 (1990). But this tax statute has criminal applications, and we know of no other basis for determining when the essential nature of a statute is "criminal." Surely, Justice Stevens cannot mean to suggest that in order for the rule of lenity to apply, the statute must be contained in the Criminal Code. See, e. g., United States v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp., 344 U. S. 218, 221-222 (1952) (construing the criminal provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U. S. C. §§ 215, 216(a)). Justice Stevens further suggests that lenity is inappropriate because we construe the statute today
Page: Index Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007