I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1131
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and expand the 
enhanced deduction for charitable contributions of computers to provide 
greater public access to computers, including access by the poor. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2003
Mr. JEFFERSON 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 extend 
and expand the enhanced deduction for charitable con-
tributions of computers to provide greater public access 
to computers, including access by the poor.
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 ‘‘Digital Divide Elimi-
nation Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR PURCHASE OF COMPUTERS BY LOW-
INCOME INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by insert-
ing after section 36 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36A. PURCHASE OF COMPUTERS BY LOW-INCOME IN-
DIVIDUALS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible indi-
vidual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 
imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount 
equal to 50 percent of the amount paid by the taxpayer 
for qualified computer technology or equipment. 
‘‘(b) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The credit allowed by 
subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed $500. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 
individual’ means any taxpayer who is allowed a 
credit under section 32 (relating to earned income 
credit) for the taxable year. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY OR 
EQUIPMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘qualified computer 
technology or equipment’ means any computer 
technology or equipment (as defined in section
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF ENHANCED DEDUC-
TION FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF 
COMPUTERS. 
(a) EXTENSION.—Subparagraph (G) of section 
170(e)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 
to special rule for contributions of computer technology 
and equipment for elementary or secondary school pur-
poses) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2003’’ and 
inserting ‘‘June 30, 2004’’. 
(b) EXPANSION.—Paragraph (6) of section 170(e) of 
such Code is amended by redesignating subparagraphs 
(C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) as subparagraphs (D), (E), 
(F), (G), and (H), respectively, and by striking all that 
precedes subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS OF 
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of any 
qualified computer contribution which is taken 
into account under this section shall be the 
greater of—
‘‘(i) the amount determined without 
regard to paragraph (1), or 
‘‘(ii) the amount determined with re-
gard to paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) QUALIFIED
COMPUTER
CONTRIBU-
TION.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 
term ‘qualified computer contribution’ means a 
charitable contribution by a corporation of any 
computer technology or equipment, but only 
if—
‘‘(i) the contribution is to a qualified 
organization, 
‘‘(ii) the contribution is made not 
later than 3 years after the date the tax-
payer acquired the property (or in the case 
of property constructed by the taxpayer, 
the date the construction of the property is 
substantially completed), 
‘‘(iii) the original use of the property 
is by the donor or the donee, 
‘‘(iv) substantially all of the use of the 
property by the donee is for use within the 
United States and, in the case of a quali-
fied educational organization, for edu-
cational purposes that are related to the 
purpose or function of the organization, 
‘‘(v) the property is not transferred by 
the donee in exchange for money, other 
property, or services, except for shipping, 
installation and transfer costs, 
‘‘(vi) in the case of a qualified edu-
cational organization, the property will fit 
productively into the entity’s education 
plan, 
‘‘(vii) the entity’s use and disposition 
of the property will be in accordance with 
the provisions of clauses (iv) and (v), and 
‘‘(viii) the property meets such stand-
ards, if any, as the Secretary may pre-
scribe by regulation to assure that the 
property meets minimum functionality and 
suitability standards for educational pur-
poses. 
‘‘(C) 
QUALIFIED
ORGANIZATION.—For 
purposes of this paragraph—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali-
fied organization’ means—
‘‘(I) any qualified educational or-
ganization,
‘‘(II) a public library (within the 
meaning of section 213(2)(A) of the 
Library Services and Technology Act 
(20 U.S.C. 9122(2)(A)), as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of the 
Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 
2000, established and maintained by 
an entity described in subsection 
(c)(1) or located in an area which is 
an empowerment zone, enterprise 
community, or a high-poverty area (as 
determined by the Secretary), 
‘‘(III) any technology center lo-
cated in such an area, and 
‘‘(IV) any entity described in sec-
tion 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) that is organized 
primarily for purposes of providing 
computers without charge to lower in-
come families. 
‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED EDUCATIONAL ORGA-
NIZATION.—For purposes of clause (i), the 
term ‘qualified educational organization’ 
means—
‘‘(I) an educational organization 
described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), 
and 
‘‘(II) an entity described in sec-
tion 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) (other than an 
entity described in subclause (I)) that 
is organized primarily for purposes of 
supporting elementary and secondary 
education.’’
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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