II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5048 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian tribal governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal 

tax purposes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian 

tribal governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal tax purposes, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Tax 

5 Parity and Relief Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 5048 IS

1 (1) There is a unique Federal legal and political 

2 relationship between the United States and Indian 

3 tribes. 

4 (2) Indian tribes have the responsibility and au5 thority to provide governmental programs and serv6 ices to tribal citizens, develop tribal economies, and 

7 build community infrastructure to ensure that In8 dian reservation lands serve as livable, permanent 

9 homes. 

10 (3) The United States Constitution, United 

11 States Federal Court decisions, Executive orders, 

12 and numerous other Federal laws and regulations 

13 recognize that Indian tribes are governments, retain14 ing the inherent authority to tax and operate as 

15 other governments, including (inter alia) financing 

16 projects with government bonds and maintaining eli17 gibility for general tax exemptions via their govern18 ment status. 

19 (4) Codifying tax parity with respect to tribal 

20 governments is consistent with Federal treaties rec21 ognizing the sovereignty of tribal governments. 

22 (5) Indian tribes face historic disadvantages in 

23 accessing the underlying capital to build the nec24 essary infrastructure for job creation, and certain 

25 statutory restrictions on tribal governance further 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 5048 IS

1 inhibit tribes’ ability to develop strong governance 

2 and economies. 

3 (6) Indian tribes are sometimes excluded from 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in key provisions 

5 which results in unfair tax treatment for tribal citi6 zens or unequal enforcement authority for tribal en7 forcement agencies. 

8 (7) Congress is vested with the authority to 

9 regulate commerce with Indian tribes, and hereby 

10 exercises that authority in a manner which furthers 

11 tribal self-governance, and in doing so, further af12 firms the United States government-to-government 

13 relationship with Indian tribes. 

14 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES AS STATES WITH 

15 RESPECT TO BOND ISSUANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7871(c) of the Internal 

17 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES FOR TAX-EXEMPT BONDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In applying section 146 to 

20 bonds issued by Indian Tribal Governments the Sec21 retary shall annually— 

22 ‘‘(A) establish a national bond volume cap 

23 based on the greater of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the State population formula ap25 proach in section 146(d)(1)(A) (using naVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Oct 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5048.IS S5048

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 5048 IS

1 tional Tribal population estimates supplied 

2 annually by the Department of the Interior 

3 in consultation with the Census Bureau), 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the minimum State ceiling 

6 amount in section 146(d)(1)(B) (as ad7 justed in accordance with the cost of living 

8 provision in section 146(d)(2)), and 

9 ‘‘(B) under regulations prescribed by the 

10 Secretary, allocate such national bond volume 

11 cap among all Indian Tribal Governments seek12 ing such an allocation in a particular year. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC RESTRIC14 TION.—In the case of national bond volume cap allo15 cated under paragraph (1), section 146(k)(1) shall 

16 not apply to the extent that such cap is used with 

17 respect to financing for a facility located on qualified 

18 Indian lands. 

19 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTION ON FINANCING OF CERTAIN

20 GAMING FACILITIES.—No portion of the volume cap 

21 allocated under this subsection may be used with re22 spect to the financing of any portion of a building 

23 in which class II or class III gaming (as defined in 

24 section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) is 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 5048 IS

1 conducted or housed or any property actually used 

2 in the conduct of such gaming. 

3 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For 

4 purposes of this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The 

6 term ‘Indian Tribal Government’ means the 

7 governing body of an Indian Tribe, band, na8 tion, or other organized group or community, or 

9 of Alaska Natives, which is recognized as eligi10 ble for the special programs and services pro11 vided by the United States to Indians because 

12 of their status as Indians, and also includes any 

13 agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivi14 sions thereof. 

15 ‘‘(B) INTERTRIBAL CONSORTIUMS, ETC.— 

16 In any case in which an Indian Tribal Govern17 ment has authorized an intertribal consortium, 

18 a Tribal organization, or an Alaska Native re19 gional or village corporation, as defined in, or 

20 established pursuant to, the Alaska Native 

21 Claims Settlement Act, to plan for, coordinate 

22 or otherwise administer services, finances, func23 tions, or activities on its behalf under this sub24 section, the authorized entity shall have the 

25 rights and responsibilities of the authorizing InVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Oct 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5048.IS S5048

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 5048 IS

1 dian Tribal Government only to the extent pro2 vided in the Authorizing resolution. 

3 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED INDIAN LANDS.—The 

4 term ‘qualified Indian lands’ shall mean an In5 dian reservation as defined in section 3(d) of 

6 the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 

7 1452(d)), including lands which are within the 

8 jurisdictional area of an Oklahoma Indian Tribe 

9 (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) 

10 and shall include lands outside a reservation 

11 where the facility is to be placed in service in 

12 connection with— 

13 ‘‘(i) the active conduct of a trade or 

14 business by an Indian Tribe on, contiguous 

15 to, within reasonable proximity of, or with 

16 a substantial connection to, an Indian res17 ervation or Alaska Native village, or 

18 ‘‘(ii) infrastructure (including roads, 

19 power lines, water systems, railroad spurs, 

20 and communication facilities) serving an 

21 Indian reservation or Alaska Native vil22 lage.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (B) 

24 of section 45(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

25 is amended to read as follows: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 5048 IS

1 ‘‘(B) INDIAN TRIBE.—For purposes of this 

2 paragraph, the term ‘Indian tribe’ means any 

3 Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized 

4 group or community which is recognized as eli5 gible for the special programs and services pro6 vided by the United States to Indians because 

7 of their status as Indians.’’. 

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply to obligations issued in calendar 

10 years beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF TRIBAL FOUNDATIONS AND CHAR13 ITIES LIKE CHARITIES FUNDED AND CON14 TROLLED BY OTHER GOVERNMENTAL 

15 FUNDERS AND SPONSORS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 170(b)(1) of the Internal 

17 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(I) TREATMENT OF CHARITIES SUBSTAN20 TIALLY FUNDED BY INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERN21 MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(vi), 

22 the term ‘governmental unit’ includes an Indian 

23 tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, 

24 or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, 

25 or an entity established under Federal, State, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 5048 IS

1 or tribal law which is wholly owned or con2 trolled by any of the foregoing.’’. 

3 (b) CERTAIN SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec4 tion 509(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (3), an or6 ganization described in paragraph (2) shall be deemed to 

7 include an Indian tribal government, an agency, instru8 mentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, 

9 or an entity established under Federal, State, or tribal law 

10 which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore11 going.’’. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 5. IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF TRIBAL CHILD 

16 SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES BY PAR17 ITY OF ACCESS TO THE FEDERAL PARENT LO18 CATOR SERVICE AND FEDERAL TAX REFUND 

19 OFFSETS. 

20 (a) ACCESS TO FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERV21 ICE.—Section 453(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 653(c)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

24 (4); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 5048 IS

1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) the child support enforcement agency of an 

5 Indian tribe or tribal organization that is eligible for 

6 a grant under section 455(f).’’. 

7 (b) IMPROVING THE COLLECTION OF PAST-DUE

8 CHILD SUPPORT FROM FEDERAL TAX REFUNDS.— 

9 (1) AMENDMENT TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY

10 ACT.—Section 464 of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 664) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL

14 ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT UNDER THIS

15 PART.—This section, except for the requirement to dis16 tribute amounts in accordance with section 457, shall 

17 apply to an Indian tribe or tribal organization eligible for 

18 a grant under section 455(f) in the same manner in which 

19 this section applies to a State with a plan approved under 

20 this part.’’. 

21 (2) AMENDMENT TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

22 CODE.—Subsection (c) of section 6402 of the Inter23 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of this sub25 section, any reference to a State shall include a refVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Oct 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5048.IS S5048

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 5048 IS

1 erence to any Indian tribe or tribal organization de2 scribed in section 464(d) of the Social Security 

3 Act.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. RECOGNIZING INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS FOR 

5 PURPOSES OF DETERMINING UNDER THE 

6 ADOPTION CREDIT WHETHER A CHILD HAS 

7 SPECIAL NEEDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 23(d)(3) of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or In11 dian tribal government’’ after ‘‘a State’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or In13 dian tribal government’’ after ‘‘such State’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. INCLUSION OF INDIAN AREAS AS DIFFICULT DE18 VELOPMENT AREAS FOR PURPOSES OF CER19 TAIN BUILDINGS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subclause (I) of section 

21 42(d)(5)(B)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

22 amended by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, 

23 and any Indian area’’. 

24 (b) INDIAN AREA.—Clause (iii) of section 

25 42(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 5048 IS

1 amended by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause (IV) 

2 and by inserting after subclause (I) the following new sub3 clauses: 

4 ‘‘(II) INDIAN AREA.—For pur5 poses of subclause (I), the term ‘In6 dian area’ means any Indian area (as 

7 defined in section 4(11) of the Native 

8 American Housing Assistance and 

9 Self Determination Act of 1996 (25 

10 U.S.C. 4103(11))). 

11 ‘‘(III) SPECIAL RULE FOR

12 BUILDINGS IN INDIAN AREAS.—In the 

13 case of an area which is a difficult de14 velopment area solely because it is an 

15 Indian area, a building shall not be 

16 treated as located in such area unless 

17 such building is assisted or financed 

18 under the Native American Housing 

19 Assistance and Self Determination 

20 Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) 

21 or the project sponsor is an Indian 

22 tribe (as defined in section 

23 45A(c)(6)), a tribally designated hous24 ing entity (as defined in section 4(22) 

25 of such Act (25 U.S.C. 4103(22))), or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 5048 IS

1 wholly owned or controlled by such an 

2 Indian tribe or tribally designated 

3 housing entity.’’. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall apply to buildings placed in service after 

6 December 31, 2021. 

7 SEC. 8. INDIAN EMPLOYMENT TAX CREDIT. 

8 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 45A of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection (f). 

10 (b) MODIFICATION OF DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT

11 OF CREDIT.—Paragraph (2) of section 45A(a) of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) the quotient of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the sum of the qualified wages and 

16 qualified employee health insurance costs which 

17 were paid or incurred by the employer (or any 

18 predecessor) during the two most recent cal19 endar years ending before the beginning of such 

20 taxable year, divided by 

21 ‘‘(B) 2.’’. 

22 (c) INCREASED LIMITATION.—Section 45A(b)(3) of 

23 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 5048 IS

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 December 31, 2021. 

4 SEC. 9. NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT FOR TRIBAL STATIS5 TICAL AREAS. 

6 (a) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS FOR TRIBAL STATIS7 TICAL AREAS.—Section 45D(f) of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS FOR TRIBAL

11 STATISTICAL AREAS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of each 

13 calendar year after 2021, there is (in addition 

14 to any limitation under any other paragraph of 

15 this subsection) a new markets tax credit limi16 tation of $175,000,000 which shall be allocated 

17 by the Secretary as provided in paragraph (2) 

18 except that such limitation may only be allo19 cated with respect to Tribal Statistical Areas. 

20 ‘‘(B) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED TRIBAL STA21 TISTICAL AREA LIMITATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the credit limi23 tation under subparagraph (A) for any cal24 endar year exceeds the amount of such 

25 limitation allocated by the Secretary for 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 5048 IS

1 such calendar year, such limitation for the 

2 succeeding calendar year shall be increased 

3 by the amount of such excess. 

4 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON CARRYOVER.— 

5 No amount of credit limitation may be car6 ried under clause (i) past the 5th calendar 

7 year following the calendar year in which 

8 such amount of credit limitation arose. 

9 ‘‘(iii) TRANSFER OF EXPIRED TRIBAL

10 STATISTICAL AREA LIMITATION TO GEN11 ERAL LIMITATION.—In the case of any 

12 amount of credit limitation which would 

13 (but for clause (ii)) be carried under clause 

14 (i) to the 6th calendar year following the 

15 calendar year in which such amount of 

16 credit limitation arose, the new market tax 

17 credit limitation under paragraph (1) for 

18 such 6th calendar year shall be increased 

19 by the amount of such credit limitation. 

20 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL STATISTICAL AREA.—For 

21 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘Tribal 

22 Statistical Area’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) any low-income community which 

24 is located in any Tribal Census Tract, 

25 Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area, TribalVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Oct 19, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5048.IS S5048

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 5048 IS

1 Designated Statistical Area, Alaska Native 

2 Village Statistical Area, or Hawaiian 

3 Home Land, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any low-income community de5 scribed in subsection (e)(1)(B).’’. 

6 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN BUSINESSES SERVING

7 TRIBAL MEMBERS.—Section 45D(e)(1) of the Internal 

8 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘low-income com10 munity’ means any area— 

11 ‘‘(A) comprising a population census tract 

12 if— 

13 ‘‘(i) the poverty rate for such tract is 

14 at least 20 percent, or 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a tract not lo16 cated within a metropolitan area, the me17 dian family income for such tract does not 

18 exceed 80 percent of statewide median 

19 family income, or 

20 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract located within 

21 a metropolitan area, the median family income 

22 for such tract does not exceed 80 percent of the 

23 greater of statewide median family income or 

24 the metropolitan area median family income, or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 5048 IS

1 ‘‘(B) which is used for a qualified active 

2 low-income community business which— 

3 ‘‘(i) services a significant population 

4 of Tribal or Alaska Native Village mem5 bers who are residents of a low-income 

6 community described in subsection 

7 (f)(5)(C)(i), and 

8 ‘‘(ii) obtains a written statement from 

9 the relevant Indian Tribal Government 

10 (within the meaning of section 7871(c)) 

11 that documents the eligibility of such 

12 qualified active low-income community 

13 business with respect to the requirement of 

14 clause (i). 

15 Subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be applied using posses16 sion wide median family income in the case of cen17 sus tracts located within a possession of the United 

18 States.’’. 

19 (c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Section 45D(i) of 

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (5), by striking the period 

22 at the end of paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

23 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 5048 IS

1 ‘‘(7) which provide documentation requirements 

2 for the written statement required under subsection 

3 (e)(1)(B)(ii), and 

4 ‘‘(8) which provide procedures for identifying 

5 qualified low-income community businesses which 

6 meet the requirements of subsection (e)(1)(B)(i) 

7 (taking into account the location need of such busi8 nesses, especially with businesses that serve multiple 

9 tribal or Alaska Native Village communities.’’. 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to new markets tax credit limita12 tion determined for calendar years after December 31, 

13 2021. 

14 SEC. 10. TRIBAL GENERAL WELFARE PROGRAMS CLARI15 FICATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(b) of the Social Se17 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph (25), by striking the pe19 riod at the end of paragraph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, 

20 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(27) any Indian general welfare benefit (as de22 fined in section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986).’’. 

24 (b) EXCLUSION FROM RESOURCES.—Section 

25 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 5048 IS

1 is amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (16), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17) 

3 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after paragraph 

4 (17) the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(18) for the 9-month period beginning after 

6 the month in which received, any Indian general wel7 fare benefit (within the meaning of section 139E of 

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB