I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3498

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow companies to donate

scientific equipment to elementary and secondary schools for use in

their educational programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 21, 1996

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. MINGE, and Mr. REED) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow companies to donate scientific equipment to elementary and

secondary schools for use in their educational programs,

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. CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC

4 EQUIPMENT TO ELEMENTARY AND SECOND5 ARY SCHOOLS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section

7 170(e)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend8 ed to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED RESEARCH OR EDU2 CATION CONTRIBUTION.—For purposes of this

3 paragraph, the term ‘qualified research or edu4 cation contribution’ means a charitable con5 tribution by a corporation of tangible personal

6 property (including computer software), but

7 only if—

8 ‘‘(i) the contribution is to—

9 ‘‘(I) an educational organization

10 described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii),

11 ‘‘(II) a governmental unit de12 scribed in subsection (c)(1), or

13 ‘‘(III) an organization described

14 in section 41(e)(6)(B),

15 ‘‘(ii) the contribution is made not

16 later than 3 years after the date the tax17 payer acquired the property (or in the case

18 of property constructed by the taxpayer,

19 the date the construction of the property is

20 substantially completed),

21 ‘‘(iii) the property is scientific equip22 ment or apparatus substantially all of the

23 use of which by the donee is for—

24 ‘‘(I) research or experimentation

25 (within the meaning of section 174),
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1 or for research training, in the United

2 States in physical or biological

3 sciences, or

4 ‘‘(II) in the case of an organiza5 tion described in clause (i) (I) or (II),

6 use within the United States for edu7 cational purposes related to the pur8 pose or function of the organization,

9 ‘‘(iv) the original use of the property

10 began with the taxpayer (or in the case of

11 property constructed by the taxpayer, with

12 the donee),

13 ‘‘(v) the property is not transferred by

14 the donee in exchange for money, other

15 property, or services, and

16 ‘‘(vi) the taxpayer receives from the

17 donee a written statement representing

18 that its use and disposition of the property

19 will be in accordance with the provisions of

20 clauses (iv) and (v).’’

21 (b) DONATIONS TO CHARITY FOR REFURBISHING.—

22 Section 170(e)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(D) DONATIONS TO CHARITY FOR REFUR2 BISHING.—For purposes of this paragraph, a

3 charitable contribution by a corporation shall be

4 treated as a qualified research or education con5 tribution if—

6 ‘‘(i) such contribution is a contribu7 tion of property described in subparagraph

8 (B)(iii) to an organization described in sec9 tion 501(c)(3) and exempt from taxation

10 under section 501(a),

11 ‘‘(ii) such organization repairs and re12 furbishes the property and donates the

13 property to an organization described in

14 subparagraph (B)(i), and

15 ‘‘(iii) the taxpayer receives from the

16 organization to whom the taxpayer contrib17 uted the property a written statement rep18 resenting that its use of the property (and

19 any use by the organization to which it do20 nates the property) meets the requirements

21 of this paragraph.’’

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

23 (1) Paragraph (4)(A) of section 170(e) of the

24 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik25 ing ‘‘qualified research contribution’’ each place it
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1 appears and inserting ‘‘qualified research or edu2 cation contribution’’.

3 (2) The heading for section 170(e)(4) of such

4 Code is amended by inserting ‘‘OR EDUCATION’’

5 after ‘‘RESEARCH’’.

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

7 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

8 December 31, 1995.

9 SEC. 2. DONATIONS TO UNDERPRIVILEGED SCHOOLS.

10 It is the sense of Congress that one of the main pur11 poses of the enhanced charitable deduction under section

12 170(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is to encour13 age the donation of computer equipment and supplies to—

14 (1) schools serving low income communities;

15 (2) schools whose fiscal year budgets are below

16 the applicable State-wide norm; and

17 (3) schools at which student test scores are sub18 stantially below the State-wide norm.

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