IB
Union Calendar No. 225
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2778
[Report No. 104–465]
To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services for the
peacekeeping effort in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall
be entitled to certain tax benefits in the same manner as if such services
were performed in a combat zone.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 14, 1995
Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Ways and Means
FEBRUARY 29, 1996
Additional sponsors: Mr. DELAY, Mr. BOEHNER, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. CRANE,
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. HERGER, Mr.
MCCRERY, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. CAMP, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Ms.
DUNN of Washington, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr.
LAUGHLIN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. DORNAN,
Mr. SPENCE, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. STUMP, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. BALLENGER,
Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BUYER, Mr. SCHIFF,
Mr. BAKER
of California, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr.
ROHRABACHER, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. HEFLEY,
Mr. UPTON, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. KING, Mr. METCALF, Mr. DUNCAN,
Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. WOLF, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.
ROGERS, Mr. EWING, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. GENE GREEN of
Texas, Mr. SOUDER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. UNDERWOOD,
Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. TATE, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr.
KOLBE, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. HAYES, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. PETERSON of
Florida, Mr. NEY, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr.
LEWIS of California, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. HYDE, Mr.
MCHUGH, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. COBURN, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr.
FROST, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. GANSKE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. JONES, Mr.
HORN, Mr. WELLER, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. BAESLER, Mr. NOR-
WOOD, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr.
BOEHLERT, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr.
CHABOT, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. BURR, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. BUNN of Or-
egon, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Ms. DELAURO, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. MARTINI, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr.
MCINTOSH, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. PETRI, Mr. WELDON of
Pennsylvania, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. SHAYS, Mr.
GOSS, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. CHRYSLER, Mr. BAKER of Louisiana, Mr.
INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. MANZULLO,
Mr. MCHALE, Mr. LEACH, Mr. WICKER, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr.
SCARBOROUGH, Mr. THOMAS, and Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN
FEBRUARY 29, 1996
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 14, 1995]
A BILL
To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing
services for the peacekeeping effort in the Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be entitled to certain tax
benefits in the same manner as if such services were
performed in a combat zone.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS PER-
FORMING SERVICES IN CERTAIN HAZARDOUS
DUTY AREAS.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of the following
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a qualified
hazardous duty area shall be treated in the same manner
as if it were a combat zone (as determined under section
112 of such Code):
(1) Section 2(a)(3) (relating to special rule
where deceased spouse was in missing status).
(2) Section 112 (relating to the exclusion of cer-
tain combat pay of members of the Armed Forces).
(3) Section 692 (relating to income taxes of
members of Armed Forces on death).
(4) Section 2201 (relating to members of the
Armed Forces dying in combat zone or by reason of
combat-zone-incurred wounds, etc.).
(5) Section 3401(a)(1) (defining wages relating
to combat pay for members of the Armed Forces).
(6) Section 4253(d) (relating to the taxation of
phone service originating from a combat zone from
members of the Armed Forces).
(7) Section 6013(f)(1) (relating to joint return
where individual is in missing status).
(8) Section 7508 (relating to time for performing
certain acts postponed by reason of service in combat
zone).
(b) QUALIFIED HAZARDOUS DUTY AREA.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘‘qualified hazardous duty
area’’ means Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, or Macedo-
nia, if as of the date of the enactment of this section any
member of the Armed Forces of the United States is entitled
to special pay under section 310 of title 37, United States
Code (relating to special pay; duty subject to hostile fire
or imminent danger) for services performed in such coun-
try. Such term includes any such country only during the
period such entitlement is in effect. Solely for purposes of
applying section 7508 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
in the case of an individual who is performing services as
part of Operation Joint Endeavor outside the United States
while deployed away from such individual’s permanent
duty station, the term ‘‘qualified hazardous duty area’’ in-
cludes, during the period for which such entitlement is in
effect, any area in which such services are performed.
(c) EXCLUSION OF COMBAT PAY FROM WITHHOLDING
LIMITED
TO AMOUNT EXCLUDABLE FROM GROSS IN-
COME.—Paragraph (1) of section 3401(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (defining wages) is amended by in-
serting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘to the extent re-
muneration for such service is excludable from gross income
under such section’’.
(d) INCREASE IN COMBAT PAY EXCLUSION FOR OFFI-
CERS TO HIGHEST AMOUNT APPLICABLE TO ENLISTED
PERSONNEL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 112
of such Code (relating to commissioned officers) is
amended by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘the maxi-
mum enlisted amount’’.
(2) MAXIMUM
ENLISTED
AMOUNT.—Subsection
(c) of section 112 of such Code (relating to defini-
tions) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(5) The term ‘maximum enlisted amount’
means, for any month, the sum of—
‘‘(A) the highest rate of basic pay payable
for such month to any enlisted member of the
Armed Forces of the United States at the highest
pay grade applicable to enlisted members, and
‘‘(B) in the case of an officer entitled to spe-
cial pay under section 310 of title 37, United
States Code, for such month, the amount of such
special pay payable to such officer for such
month.’’.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the provisions of and amendments made by
this section shall take effect on November 21, 1995.
(2) WITHHOLDING.—Subsection (a)(5) and the
amendment made by subsection (c) shall apply to re-
muneration paid after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE USER
FEES.
Subsection (c) of section 10511 of the Revenue Act of
1987 is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2000’’ and by in-
serting ‘‘October 1, 2003’’.
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide that
members of the Armed Forces performing services for the
peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
and Macedonia shall be entitled to tax benefits in the same
manner as if such services were performed in a combat
zone, and for other purposes.’’.