Tribal Economic Assistance Act of 2017

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the Indian Employment Credit and the depreciation rules for business property on Indian reservations, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tribal Economic Assistance Act of 2017 2. Treatment of Indian Tribes as States with respect to bond issuance (a) Repeal of essential governmental function requirement Section 7871 (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to transactions after, and obligations issued in calendar years beginning after, the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. Making permanent the Indian Employment Credit and deprecation rules for business property on Indian reservations (a) Indian employment credit (1) In general Section 45A (2) Effective date The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016. (b) Accelerated Depreciation for Business Property on an Indian Reservation (1) In general Section 168(j) (c) Effective date The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2016. 4. Priority under New Markets Tax Credit for qualified low-income community investments on Indian reservations (a) In general Subsection (f) of section 45D (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking or (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and inserting , or (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (C) which intends to make qualified low-income community investments within a reservation, including any such entity established by a tribe or an economic enterprise which intends to make such investments within a reservation. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) Definitions For purposes of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2), the terms reservation tribe economic enterprise 25 U.S.C. 1452 . (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to calendar years beginning after December 31, 2017. 5. Authorization to establish qualified Indian school construction bond escrow account (a) Authorization To establish qualified Indian school construction bond escrow account (1) In general Part B of title II of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5351 204A. Authorization to establish qualified Indian school construction bond escrow account (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Federal escrow account The term Federal escrow account (2) Qualified Indian school construction bond The term qualified Indian school construction bond (3) Secretary The term Secretary (b) In general Pursuant to the authority granted under section 54F(d)(4) (c) Use of escrow account The Secretary shall use amounts available under the Federal escrow account to carry out a qualified Indian school construction bond program for schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through which— (1) the Secretary shall approve qualified school construction bonds to the extent that amounts are available in the Federal escrow account to support the bonds pursuant to paragraph (2); (2) upon the Secretary's approval of a request for a qualified school construction bond, the Secretary shall deposit, from amounts available in the Federal escrow account, the amount described in paragraph (4) in an individual bond escrow account that shall be managed for such qualified school construction bond; (3) the funds for the individual bond escrow account shall be held by the Federal Government or in an insured depository institution, as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1813 (4) the amount of the funds provided for the individual bond escrow account shall be an amount sufficient to repay the face value of the bond in a 15-year period, based on the investment required under paragraph (3). (d) Transfer to escrow account (1) In general The Secretary shall deposit in the Federal escrow account such sums as are made available to implement this section and section 54F(d)(4) (2) Other funds The Secretary may accept and deposit in the Federal escrow account amounts received to carry out this section from any other source, including Federal agencies, non-Federal public agencies, Indian Tribes, nonprofit organizations, and private sector entities. . (2) Conforming amendments Section 204 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5351 this part B this section (b) Use of bonds for reasonable and necessary preconstruction costs Section 54F(d)(4) Affairs. Affairs, which may include paying the reasonable and necessary predevelopment costs directly associated with such construction, rehabilitation, or repair.

Summary: Tribal Economic Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify several tax provisions relating to Indian reservations. The bill: repeals a provision that limits an Indian tribal government's eligibility for certain excise tax exemptions to transactions involving the exercise of an essential government function; makes permanent the special depreciation rules for property used predominantly within an Indian reservation; makes permanent the Indian employment tax credit; requires the Department of the Treasury to give priority to qualified low-income community investments on Indian reservations when allocating new markets tax credits; and allows qualified school construction bonds allocated for schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be used for reasonable and necessary predevelopment costs directly associated with the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of a school. The bill also amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to establish a federal escrow account to carry out a qualified Indian school construction bond program for schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.