I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3043 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the treatment of 
general welfare benefits provided by Indian tribes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 2, 2013 
Mr. NUNES (for himself, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. KIND, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. 
REICHERT, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. COLE, Ms. MOORE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. KILMER, Mr. VALADAO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MULLIN, 
and Mr. GOSAR) 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 clarify 
the treatment of general welfare benefits provided by 
Indian tribes. 
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 ‘‘Tribal General Welfare 
Exclusion Act of 2013’’. 
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SEC. 2. INDIAN GENERAL WELFARE BENEFITS. 
(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. 139E. INDIAN GENERAL WELFARE BENEFITS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Gross income does not include 
the value of any Indian general welfare benefit. 
‘‘(b) INDIAN GENERAL WELFARE BENEFIT.—For 
purposes of this section, the term ‘Indian general welfare 
benefit’ includes any payment made or services provided 
to or on behalf of a member of an Indian tribe (or any 
spouse or dependent of such a member) pursuant to an 
Indian tribal government program, but only if— 
‘‘(1) the program is administered under speci-
fied guidelines and does not discriminate in favor of 
members of the governing body of the tribe, and 
‘‘(2) the benefits provided under such pro-
gram— 
‘‘(A) are available to any tribal member 
who meets such guidelines, 
‘‘(B) are for the promotion of general wel-
fare, 
‘‘(C) are not lavish or extravagant, and 
‘‘(D) are not compensation for services. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
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‘‘(1) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘Indian tribal govern-
ment’ includes any agencies or instrumentalities of 
an Indian tribal government and any Alaska Native 
regional or village corporation, as defined in, or es-
tablished pursuant to, the Alaska Native Claims Set-
tlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.). 
‘‘(2) DEPENDENT.—The term ‘dependent’ has 
the meaning given such term by section 152, deter-
mined without regard to subsections (b)(1), (b)(2), 
and (d)(1)(B). 
‘‘(3) LAVISH
OR
EXTRAVAGANT.—The Sec-
retary shall, in consultation with the Tribal Advisory 
Committee (as established under section 3(a) of the 
Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013), es-
tablish guidelines for what constitutes lavish or ex-
travagant benefits with respect to Indian tribal gov-
ernment programs. 
‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT 
PROGRAM.—A program shall not fail to be treated as 
an Indian tribal government program solely by rea-
son of the program being established by tribal cus-
tom or government practice. 
‘‘(5) CEREMONIAL ACTIVITIES.—Any items of 
cultural significance, reimbursement of costs, or 
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cash honorarium for participation in cultural or cer-
emonial activities for the transmission of tribal cul-
ture shall not be treated as compensation for serv-
ices.’’. 
(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. 139E. Indian general welfare benefits.’’. 
(c) STATUTORY
CONSTRUCTION.—Ambiguities in 
section 139E of such Code, as added by this Act, shall 
be resolved in favor of Indian tribal governments and def-
erence shall be given to Indian tribal governments for the 
programs administered and authorized by the tribe to ben-
efit the general welfare of the tribal community. 
(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 
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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. 
SEC. 3. TRIBAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall establish a Tribal Advisory Committee (herein-
after in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Committee shall 
advise the Secretary on matters relating to the tax-
ation of Indians. 
(2) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—The Secretary 
shall, in consultation with the Committee, establish 
and require— 
(A) training and education for internal rev-
enue field agents who administer and enforce 
internal revenue laws with respect to Indian 
tribes on Federal Indian law and the Federal 
Government’s unique legal treaty and trust re-
lationship with Indian tribal governments, and 
(B) training of such internal revenue field 
agents, and provision of training and technical 
assistance to tribal financial officers, about im-
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plementation of this Act and the amendments 
made thereby. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 
composed of 7 members appointed as follows: 
(A) Three members appointed by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury. 
(B) One member appointed by the Chair-
man, and one member appointed by the Rank-
ing Member, of the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives. 
(C) One member appointed by the Chair-
man, and one member appointed by the Rank-
ing Member, of the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate. 
(2) TERM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), each member’s term shall be 
4 years. 
(B) INITIAL STAGGERING.—The first ap-
pointments made by the Secretary under para-
graph (1)(A) shall be for a term of 2 years. 
SEC. 4. OTHER RELIEF FOR INDIAN TRIBES. 
(a) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EXAMINATIONS.— 
The Secretary of the Treasury shall suspend all audits and 
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examinations of Indian tribal governments and members 
of Indian tribes (or any spouse or dependent of such a 
member), to the extent such an audit or examination re-
lates to the exclusion of a payment or benefit from an In-
dian tribal government under the general welfare exclu-
sion, until the education and training prescribed by section 
3(b)(2) of this Act is completed. The running of any pe-
riod of limitations under section 6501 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 with respect to Indian tribal govern-
ments and members of Indian tribes shall be suspended 
during the period during which audits and examinations 
are suspended under the preceding sentence. 
(b) WAIVER OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST.—The 
Secretary of the Treasury may waive any interest and pen-
alties imposed under such Code on any Indian tribal gov-
ernment or member of an Indian tribe (or any spouse or 
dependent of such a member) to the extent such interest 
and penalties relate to excluding a payment or benefit 
from gross income under the general welfare exclusion. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this subsection— 
(1) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘Indian tribal government’’ shall have the meaning 
given such term by section 139E of such Code, as 
added by this Act. 
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(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
shall have the meaning given such term by section 
45A(c)(6) of such Code. 
Æ 
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