I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1753 
To provide tax incentives that support local media. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2025 
Ms. TENNEY (for herself and Ms. DELBENE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide tax incentives that support local media. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community News and 
Small Business Support Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR ADVERTISING IN LOCAL MEDIA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
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‘‘SEC. 45BB. ADVERTISING IN LOCAL MEDIA. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 
the case of any eligible small business, the local media ad-
vertising credit determined under this section for any tax-
able year is an amount equal to the applicable percentage 
of the qualified local media advertising expenses paid or 
incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable year. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The credit allowed under sub-
section (a) to any taxpayer for any taxable year shall not 
exceed— 
‘‘(1) in the case of the first taxable year to 
which this section applies, $5,000, and 
‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent taxable year, 
$2,500. 
‘‘(c) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘applicable percentage’ means— 
‘‘(1) in the case of the first taxable year to 
which this section applies, 80 percent, and 
‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent taxable year, 
50 percent. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘eligible small business’ means any 
person for any taxable year if the average number of full- 
time employees (as determined for purposes of deter-
mining whether an employer is an applicable large em-
ployer for purposes of section 4980H(c)(2) of the Internal 
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Revenue Code of 1986) employed by such person during 
such taxable year was less than 50. 
‘‘(e) QUALIFIED LOCAL MEDIA ADVERTISING EX-
PENSES.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified 
local media advertising expenses’ means amounts paid or 
incurred in the ordinary course of a trade or business 
for— 
‘‘(1) advertising in a local newspaper, or 
‘‘(2) advertising on any broadcast radio or tele-
vision station licensed by the Federal Communica-
tions Commission to serve a local community. 
For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘advertising’ in-
cludes sponsorships. 
‘‘(f) LOCAL NEWSPAPER.—For purposes of this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘local newspaper’ 
means any print or digital publication if— 
‘‘(A) the primary content of such publica-
tion is original content derived from primary 
sources and relating to news and current 
events, 
‘‘(B) such publication primarily serves the 
needs of a regional or local community, 
‘‘(C) the publisher of such publication— 
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‘‘(i) employs at least one full-time 
local news journalist who resides in such 
regional or local community, 
‘‘(ii) employs not greater than 750 
employees, and 
‘‘(iii) is not— 
‘‘(I) an organization described in 
paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 
501(c), 
‘‘(II) a political organization (as 
defined in section 527(e)), 
‘‘(III) any organization controlled 
by one or more organizations de-
scribed in subclauses (I) or (II), or 
‘‘(IV) any organization that re-
ceived more than $100,000 (in the ag-
gregate) from organizations described 
in subclauses (I), (II), or (III) during 
the taxable year or any preceding tax-
able year. 
‘‘(2) LOCAL NEWS JOURNALIST.—For purposes 
of paragraph (1)(C)(i), the term ‘local news jour-
nalist’ means any individual who regularly gathers, 
prepares, produces, collects, edits, photographs, 
records, directs the recording of, writes, presents, or 
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reports news or information that concerns local 
events or other matters of local public interest. 
‘‘(3) AGGREGATION RULE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of 
clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (1)(C), all 
persons treated as a single employer under sub-
section (a) or (b) of section 52, or subsection 
(m) or (o) of section 414, shall be treated as 
one person. 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
shall not apply unless such persons are involved 
in the production of the same print or digital 
publication. 
‘‘(4) CONTINUOUS
QUALIFICATION.—The re-
quirements of paragraph (1)(C) shall not be treated 
as met unless such requirements are met at all times 
during the period beginning on the date which is 1 
year before the date of the enactment of this section 
and ending on the date that the subscription de-
scribed in subsection (a) is paid or incurred. 
‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduc-
tion shall be allowed for any qualified local media 
advertising expenses otherwise allowable as a deduc-
tion for the taxable year which is equal to the 
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amount of the credit determined for such taxable 
year under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) AGGREGATION RULE.—All persons treated 
as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of 
section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or 
subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 of such Code, 
shall be treated as one person for purposes of apply-
ing subsection (b). 
‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—No credit shall be allowed 
under this section for any amount paid or incurred in a 
taxable year ending after the close of 5-year period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI-
NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended 
by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (40), by strik-
ing the period at the end of paragraph (41) and inserting 
‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(42) in the case of an eligible small business, 
the local media advertising credit determined under 
section 45BB(a).’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45BB. Advertising in local media.’’. 
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(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax-
able years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 3. PAYROLL CREDIT FOR COMPENSATION OF LOCAL 
NEWS JOURNALIST. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter D of chapter 21 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 3135. LOCAL NEWS JOURNALIST COMPENSATION 
CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible local 
news journalist employer, there shall be allowed as a credit 
against applicable employment taxes for each calendar 
quarter an amount equal to the applicable percentage of 
the wages paid by such employer to local news journalists 
for such calendar quarter. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS AND REFUNDABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF LOCAL NEWS 
JOURNALISTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The number 
of employees of any eligible local news journalist em-
ployer which are taken into account as local news 
journalists under subsection (a) for any calendar 
quarter shall not exceed 1,500. 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON WAGES TAKEN INTO AC-
COUNT.—The amount of wages paid with respect to 
any individual which may be taken into account 
under subsection (a) during any calendar quarter by 
the eligible local news journalist employer shall not 
exceed $12,500. 
‘‘(3) 
CREDIT
LIMITED
TO
EMPLOYMENT 
TAXES.—The credit allowed by subsection (a) with 
respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the 
applicable employment taxes (reduced by any credits 
allowed under sections 3131, 3132, and 3134) on 
the wages paid with respect to the employment of all 
the employees of the eligible local news journalist 
employer for such calendar quarter. 
‘‘(4) REFUNDABILITY OF EXCESS CREDIT.—If 
the amount of the credit under subsection (a) ex-
ceeds the limitation of paragraph (3) for any cal-
endar quarter, such excess shall be treated as an 
overpayment that shall be refunded under sections 
6402(a) and 6413(b). 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABLE
PERCENTAGE.—The term 
‘applicable percentage’ means— 
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‘‘(A) in the case of each of the first 4 cal-
endar quarters to which this section applies, 50 
percent; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of each calendar quarter 
thereafter, 30 percent. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL NEWS JOURNALIST EM-
PLOYER.—The term ‘eligible local news journalist 
employer’ means, with respect to any calendar quar-
ter, any employer if substantially all of the gross re-
ceipts of such employer for such calendar quarter 
are derived in the trade or business of publishing 
local newspapers (as defined in section 45BB(f)). 
‘‘(3) LOCAL
NEWS
JOURNALIST.—The term 
‘local news journalist’ means, with respect to any eli-
gible local news journalist employer for any calendar 
quarter, any individual who provides at least 200 
hours of service as a local news journalist (as de-
fined in section 45BB(f)(2)) during such calendar 
quarter to such eligible local news journalist em-
ployer. 
‘‘(4) APPLICABLE EMPLOYMENT TAXES.—The 
term ‘applicable employment taxes’ means the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) The taxes imposed under section 
3111(b). 
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‘‘(f) CERTAIN GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYERS.—This 
credit shall not apply to the Government of the United 
States, the government of any State or political subdivi-
sion thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any of 
the foregoing. 
‘‘(g) ELECTION TO HAVE SECTION NOT APPLY.— 
This section shall not apply with respect to any eligible 
local news journalist employer for any calendar quarter 
if such person elects (at such time and in such manner 
as the Secretary may prescribe) not to have this section 
apply. 
‘‘(h) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE
NOT
TAKEN
INTO
ACCOUNT 
MORE THAN ONCE.—An employee shall not be in-
cluded for purposes of this section for any period 
with respect to any employer if such employer is al-
lowed a credit under section 51 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 with respect to such employee for 
such period. 
‘‘(2) DENIAL
OF
DOUBLE
BENEFIT.—Any 
wages taken into account in determining the credit 
allowed under this section shall not be taken into ac-
count for purposes of determining the credit allowed 
under section 41, 45A, 45P, 45S, or 1396. 
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‘‘(3) THIRD-PARTY
PAYORS.—Any credit al-
lowed under this section shall be treated as a credit 
described in section 3511(d)(2). 
‘‘(4) TREATMENT
OF
DEPOSITS.—The Sec-
retary shall waive any penalty under section 6656 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for any failure 
to make a deposit of any applicable employment 
taxes if the Secretary determines that such failure 
was due to the reasonable anticipation of the credit 
allowed under this section. 
‘‘(5) EXTENSION OF LIMITATION ON ASSESS-
MENT.—Notwithstanding section 6501, the limita-
tion on the time period for the assessment of any 
amount attributable to a credit claimed under this 
section shall not expire before the date that is 5 
years after the later of— 
‘‘(A) the date on which the original return 
which includes the calendar quarter with re-
spect to which such credit is determined is filed, 
or 
‘‘(B) the date on which such return is 
treated as filed under section 6501(b)(2). 
‘‘(i) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 
shall issue such forms, instructions, regulations, and guid-
ance as are necessary— 
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‘‘(1) with respect to the application of the cred-
it under subsection (a) to third-party payors (includ-
ing professional employer organizations, certified 
professional employer organizations, or agents under 
section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), 
including regulations or guidance allowing such 
payors to submit documentation necessary to sub-
stantiate the eligible employer status of employers 
that use such payors, and 
‘‘(2) to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of 
the limitations under this section, including through 
the leaseback of employees. 
Any forms, instructions, regulations, or other guidance de-
scribed in paragraph (2) shall require the customer to be 
responsible for the accounting of the credit and for any 
liability for improperly claimed credits and shall require 
the certified professional employer organization or other 
third party payor to accurately report such tax credits 
based on the information provided by the customer. 
‘‘(j) APPLICATION.—This section shall not apply to 
any calendar quarter beginning more than 5 years after 
the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘3135,’’ after 
‘‘3134,’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subchapter D of 
chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Sec. 3135. Local news journalist compensation credit.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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