I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3524 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the treatment of 
contributions to Alaska Native Settlement Trusts, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2017 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. LATTA, and Mr. LOEBSACK) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify 
the treatment of contributions to Alaska Native Settle-
ment Trusts, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Settlement Trust Im-
provement Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FOR ANCSA PAYMENTS ASSIGNED TO 
ALASKA NATIVE SETTLEMENT TRUSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap-
ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 
by inserting before section 140 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 139G. ASSIGNMENTS TO ALASKA NATIVE SETTLE-
MENT TRUSTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a Native Corpora-
tion, gross income shall not include the value of any pay-
ments that would otherwise be made, or treated as being 
made, to such Native Corporation pursuant to, or as re-
quired by, any provision of the Alaska Native Claims Set-
tlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), including any pay-
ment that would otherwise be made to a Village Corpora-
tion pursuant to section 7(j) of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(j)), provided that any 
such payments— 
‘‘(1) are assigned in writing to a Settlement 
Trust, and 
‘‘(2) were not received by such Native Corpora-
tion prior to the assignment described in paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(b) INCLUSION IN GROSS INCOME.—In the case of 
a Settlement Trust which has been assigned payments de-
scribed in subsection (a), gross income shall include such 
payments as and when such payments are received by such 
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Settlement Trust pursuant to the assignment and shall 
have the same character as if such payments were received 
by the Native Corporation. 
‘‘(c) AMOUNT AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT.—The 
amount and scope of any assignment under subsection (a) 
shall be described with reasonable particularity and may 
either be in a percentage of one or more such payments 
or in a fixed dollar amount. 
‘‘(d) DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT; REVOCABILITY.— 
Any assignment under subsection (a) shall specify— 
‘‘(1) a duration either in perpetuity or for a pe-
riod of time, and 
‘‘(2) whether such assignment is revocable. 
‘‘(e) 
PROHIBITION
ON
DEDUCTION.—Notwith-
standing section 250, no deduction shall be allowed to a 
Native Corporation for purposes of any amounts described 
in subsection (a). 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
terms ‘Native Corporation’ and ‘Settlement Trust’ have 
the same meaning given such terms under section 
646(h).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such 
Code is amended by inserting before the item relating to 
section 140 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 139G. Assignments to Alaska Native Settlement Trusts.’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2016. 
SEC. 3. DEDUCTION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALASKA NA-
TIVE SETTLEMENT TRUSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part VIII of subchapter B of 
chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 250. CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALASKA NATIVE SETTLE-
MENT TRUSTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a Native Corpora-
tion, there shall be allowed a deduction for any contribu-
tions made by such Native Corporation to a Settlement 
Trust (regardless of whether an election under section 646 
is in effect for such Settlement Trust) for which the Na-
tive Corporation has made an annual election under sub-
section (e). 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF DEDUCTION.—The amount of the 
deduction under subsection (a) shall be equal to— 
‘‘(1) in the case of a cash contribution (regard-
less of the method of payment, including currency, 
coins, money order, or check), the amount of such 
contribution, or 
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‘‘(2) in the case of a contribution not described 
in paragraph (1), the Native Corporation’s adjusted 
basis in the property contributed. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION AND CARRYOVER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the deduction allowed under subsection (a) for any 
taxable year shall not exceed the taxable income of 
the Native Corporation for the taxable year in which 
the contribution was made. 
‘‘(2) CARRYOVER.—If the aggregate amount of 
contributions described in subsection (a) for any tax-
able year exceeds the limitation under paragraph 
(1), such excess shall be treated as a contribution 
described in subsection (a) in each of the 15 suc-
ceeding years in order of time. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
terms ‘Native Corporation’ and ‘Settlement Trust’ have 
the same meaning given such terms under section 646(h). 
‘‘(e) MANNER OF MAKING ELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each taxable year, a 
Native Corporation may elect to have this section 
apply for such taxable year on the income tax return 
or amended income tax return of the Native Cor-
poration, with such election to have effect solely for 
such taxable year. 
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‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—Any election made by a 
Native Corporation pursuant to this subsection may 
be revoked pursuant to an amended income tax re-
turn which has been timely filed by such Native Cor-
poration. 
‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) 
EARNINGS
AND
PROFITS.—Notwith-
standing section 646(d)(2), in the case of a Native 
Corporation which claims a deduction under this sec-
tion for any taxable year, the earnings and profits 
of such Native Corporation for such taxable year 
shall be reduced by the amount of such deduction. 
‘‘(2) GAIN OR LOSS.—No gain or loss shall be 
recognized by the Native Corporation with respect to 
a contribution of property for which a deduction is 
allowed under this section. 
‘‘(3) INCOME.—Subject to subsection (g), a Set-
tlement Trust shall report income in the amount of 
any deduction allowed under this section in the tax-
able year in which the Settlement Trust actually re-
ceives such contribution. 
‘‘(4) PERIOD.—In determining the period that 
a Settlement Trust has held property for which a de-
duction is allowed under this section, the period the 
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Native Corporation has held such property shall be 
included. 
‘‘(5) BASIS.—The basis that a Settlement Trust 
has for which a deduction is allowed under this sec-
tion shall be equal to the adjusted basis of the Na-
tive Corporation in such property immediately before 
such contribution. 
‘‘(6) PROHIBITION.—No deduction shall be al-
lowed under this section with respect to any con-
tributions made to a Settlement Trust which are in 
violation of subsection (a)(2) or (c)(2) of section 39 
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1629e). 
‘‘(g) ELECTION BY SETTLEMENT TRUST TO DEFER 
INCOME RECOGNITION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a contribu-
tion which consists of property other than cash, a 
Settlement Trust may elect to defer recognition of 
any income related to such property until the sale or 
exchange of such property, in whole or in part, by 
the Settlement Trust. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—In the case of property de-
scribed in paragraph (1), any income or gain re-
ceived by the Settlement Trust upon sale or ex-
change of such property shall be treated as— 
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‘‘(A) for such amount of the income or 
gain as is equal to or less than the amount of 
income deferred pursuant to this subsection, or-
dinary income, and 
‘‘(B) for any amounts of the income or 
gain which are in excess of the amount of in-
come deferred pursuant to this subsection, hav-
ing the same character as if this subsection did 
not apply. 
‘‘(3) ELECTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each taxable year, 
a Settlement Trust may elect to apply this sub-
section for any property described in paragraph 
(1) which was contributed during such year. 
Any property to which the election applies shall 
be identified and described with reasonable par-
ticularity on the income tax return or amended 
income tax return of the Settlement Trust, with 
such election to have effect solely for such tax-
able year. 
‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—Any election made by 
a Settlement Trust pursuant to this subsection 
may be revoked pursuant to an amended in-
come tax return which has been timely filed by 
such Settlement Trust. 
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‘‘(C) CERTAIN DISPOSITIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 
property for which an election is in effect 
under this subsection and which is dis-
posed of within the first taxable year sub-
sequent to the taxable year in which such 
property was contributed to the Settlement 
Trust— 
‘‘(I) such election shall be voided 
as to such property, 
‘‘(II) the Settlement Trust shall 
be required to file an amended return 
for the taxable year in which such 
property was contributed, and 
‘‘(III) the Settlement Trust shall 
pay any tax applicable to such prop-
erty, including interest and a penalty 
equal to 10 percent of the amount of 
such tax. 
‘‘(ii) ASSESSMENT.—Notwithstanding 
section 6501(a), any amount described in 
subclause (III) of clause (i) may be as-
sessed, or a proceeding in court with re-
spect to such amount may be initiated 
without assessment, within 4 years after 
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the date on which the return making the 
election under this subsection for such 
property was filed.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for part VIII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 250. Contributions to Alaska Native Settlement Trusts.’’. 
(c) PERMISSIVE AMENDMENTS TO TRUST AGREE-
MENTS ESTABLISHING SETTLEMENT TRUSTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provi-
sion of law, including any provision of the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.), Alaska state law, or the terms of any trust 
agreement of a Settlement Trust (as defined under 
section 3(t) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act, (43 U.S.C. 1602(t))), the terms of any trust 
agreement of a Settlement Trust may, within the 1- 
year period following the date of the enactment of 
this Act, be amended as necessary to allow such 
Trust to make an election described in subsection 
(g) of section 250 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (as added by subsection (a)). 
(2) AMENDMENT.—An amendment described in 
paragraph (1) shall be enacted pursuant to one or 
more agreements between the Native Corporation 
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that established the Settlement Trust and the trust-
ees of such Trust and shall not require any vote by 
the beneficiaries of such Trust or the shareholders 
of such Native Corporation. 
(3) REGISTRATION
STATEMENT.—Any Settle-
ment Trust which was registered in accordance with 
Alaska state law prior to the date of the enactment 
of an amendment described in paragraph (1) shall 
not be required to file a new or amended registration 
statement to reflect such amendment. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years for which 
the period of limitation on refund or credit under 
section 6511 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
has not expired. 
(2) ONE-YEAR WAIVER OF STATUTE OF LIMITA-
TIONS.—If the period of limitation on a credit or re-
fund resulting from the amendments made by sub-
section (a) expires before the end of the 1-year pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, refund or credit of such overpayment (to the ex-
tent attributable to such amendments) may, never-
theless, be made or allowed if claim therefor is filed 
before the close of such 1-year period. 
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SEC. 4. INFORMATION REPORTING FOR DEDUCTIBLE CON-
TRIBUTIONS TO ALASKA NATIVE SETTLE-
MENT TRUSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6039H of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SPON-
SORING’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(e) DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS BY NATIVE COR-
PORATIONS TO ALASKA NATIVE SETTLEMENT TRUSTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any Native Corporation (as 
defined in subsection (m) of section 3 of the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(m))) 
which has made a contribution to a Settlement 
Trust (as defined in subsection (t) of such section) 
to which an election under subsection (e) of section 
250 applies shall provide such Settlement Trust with 
a statement regarding such election not later than 
January 31 of the calendar year subsequent to the 
calendar year in which the contribution was made. 
‘‘(2) CONTENT
OF
STATEMENT.—The state-
ment described in paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) the total amount of contributions to 
which the election under subsection (e) of sec-
tion 250 applies, 
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‘‘(B) for each contribution, whether such 
contribution was in cash, 
‘‘(C) for each contribution which consists 
of property other than cash, the date that such 
property was acquired by the Native Corpora-
tion and the adjusted basis of such property on 
the date such property was contributed to the 
Settlement Trust, 
‘‘(D) the date on which each contribution 
was made to the Settlement Trust, and 
‘‘(E) such information as the Secretary de-
termines to be necessary or appropriate for the 
identification of each contribution and the accu-
rate reporting of income relating to such con-
tributions by the Settlement Trust.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 
to section 6039H in the table of sections for subpart A 
of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 6039H. Information With Respect to Alaska Native Settlement Trusts 
and Native Corporations.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2016. 
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SEC. 5. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION. 
This Act is remedial Indian legislation enacted under 
the plenary authority of the Congress under the Constitu-
tion of the United States to regulate Indian affairs, and 
any ambiguities in section 139F or 250 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this Act, shall be re-
solved in favor of Native Corporations attempting to ex-
clude income or claim a deduction thereunder. 
Æ 
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