You know this because you have access to the police reports? I know the store owner is making that claim, but you going to just parrot his claim?
Additionally, like I pointed out already, the 4473 forms contain information which may be of value to a financial investigation.
Unless you have evidence the store owner is lying, why would you impugn his integrity like that?
Like i pointed out already, there are other records that the IRS can use for that purpose that do not contain the names, social security numbers, driver's license/ID numbers, addresses, firearms acquired and other personal data belonging to the customers.
As an FFL holder myself, I have to keep a book of all firearms acquired and disposed of pertaining to collecting curios and relics. That book is made available to any ATF agent upon request. The only difference is i only record the information that book requires, not the personal info of the buyers and sellers other than names.
You really do trust the government. Even IF (big IF) the IRS finds "information which may be of value to a financial investigation" in the 4473s, the bigger question is whether the IRS has the authority to TAKE those forms given the fact the law states only the FFL can retain them. Even the FBI when running NICS background checks doesn't get all the information on the 4473 such as specific firearm details. But now the IRS can have it?
Too shady.
Here's a hypothetical for your noggin:
1. person buys a gun from an FFL.
2. person passes the NICS background check.
3. person now possesses the gun.
4. per federal law, the FBI doesn't get to keep the 4473 -- only the data necessary perform the NICS check is transmitted and only retained for a short time.
5. if there's a need to investigate the ownership of a firearm the shop may have sold, a request is sent to the shop to ask them to review the 4473.
6. only if the shop is closed permanently does the FBI get all of those forms.
7. now, instead of being made to request 4473 information from the dealer, the executive agencies can just walk in and take them. What they do with them after that will never be known for sure save for any whistleblowers. They could build that illegal firearm database from the 4473s under the guise of "firearm dealer records for possible financial investigation use" instead of "collecting individual firearm ownership records in violation of federal law."
Why they took the records is not the problem. That the forms are maintained by the dealer -- not the iRS or ATF -- is the problem.
They didn't take some. They took all of them. That's not an "investigation." It's a fishing expedition.