To increase the energy credit for equipment used to generate electricity by geothermal power, to extend the grants for specified energy property, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Renewable Energy 
Investment Act''.

SEC. 2. INCREASE OF ENERGY CREDIT FOR EQUIPMENT USED TO GENERATE 
              ELECTRICITY BY GEOTHERMAL POWER.

    (a) In General.--Clause (i) of section 48(a)(2)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) in subclause (III), by striking ``and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(V) energy property described in 
                                paragraph (3)(A)(iii), but only with 
                                respect to periods ending before 
                                January 1, 2017, and''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property placed in service after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF SPECIFIED ENERGY PROPERTY GRANTS IN LIEU OF 
              CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 1603 of the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 is amended by striking 
``unless such property--'' and all that follows through the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ``unless such property is placed 
in service before the credit termination date with respect to such 
property.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to grants made after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION FROM CERTAIN TAX INDIFFERENT 
              PARTIES.

    (a) In General.--Subpart B of part II of subchapter E of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 
section 457 the following new section:

``SEC. 457A. NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION FROM CERTAIN TAX 
              INDIFFERENT PARTIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Any compensation which is deferred under a 
nonqualified deferred compensation plan of a nonqualified entity shall 
be includible in gross income when there is no substantial risk of 
forfeiture of the rights to such compensation.
    ``(b) Nonqualified Entity.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`nonqualified entity' means--
            ``(1) any foreign corporation unless substantially all of 
        its income is--
                    ``(A) effectively connected with the conduct of a 
                trade or business in the United States, or
                    ``(B) subject to a comprehensive foreign income 
                tax, and
            ``(2) any partnership unless substantially all of its 
        income is allocated to persons other than--
                    ``(A) foreign persons with respect to whom such 
                income is not subject to a comprehensive foreign income 
                tax, and
                    ``(B) organizations which are exempt from tax under 
                this title.
    ``(c) Determinability of Amounts of Compensation.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the amount of any compensation is not 
        determinable at the time that such compensation is otherwise 
        includible in gross income under subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) such amount shall be so includible in gross 
                income when determinable, and
                    ``(B) the tax imposed under this chapter for the 
                taxable year in which such compensation is includible 
                in gross income shall be increased by the sum of--
                            ``(i) the amount of interest determined 
                        under paragraph (2), and
                            ``(ii) an amount equal to 20 percent of the 
                        amount of such compensation.
            ``(2) Interest.--For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(i), the 
        interest determined under this paragraph for any taxable year 
        is the amount of interest at the underpayment rate under 
        section 6621 plus 1 percentage point on the underpayments that 
        would have occurred had the deferred compensation been 
        includible in gross income for the taxable year in which first 
        deferred or, if later, the first taxable year in which such 
        deferred compensation is not subject to a substantial risk of 
        forfeiture.
    ``(d) Other Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) Substantial risk of forfeiture.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The rights of a person to 
                compensation shall be treated as subject to a 
                substantial risk of forfeiture only if such person's 
                rights to such compensation are conditioned upon the 
                future performance of substantial services by any 
                individual.
                    ``(B) Exception for compensation based on gain 
                recognized on an investment asset.--
                            ``(i) In general.--To the extent provided 
                        in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, if 
                        compensation is determined solely by reference 
                        to the amount of gain recognized on the 
                        disposition of an investment asset, such 
                        compensation shall be treated as subject to a 
                        substantial risk of forfeiture until the date 
                        of such disposition.
                            ``(ii) Investment asset.--For purposes of 
                        clause (i), the term `investment asset' means 
                        any single asset (other than an investment fund 
                        or similar entity)--
                                    ``(I) acquired directly by an 
                                investment fund or similar entity,
                                    ``(II) with respect to which such 
                                entity does not (nor does any person 
                                related to such entity) participate in 
                                the active management of such asset (or 
                                if such asset is an interest in an 
                                entity, in the active management of the 
                                activities of such entity), and
                                    ``(III) substantially all of any 
                                gain on the disposition of which (other 
                                than such deferred compensation) is 
                                allocated to investors in such entity.
                            ``(iii) Coordination with special rule.--
                        Paragraph (3)(B) shall not apply to any 
                        compensation to which clause (i) applies.
            ``(2) Comprehensive foreign income tax.--The term 
        `comprehensive foreign income tax' means, with respect to any 
        foreign person, the income tax of a foreign country if--
                    ``(A) such person is eligible for the benefits of a 
                comprehensive income tax treaty between such foreign 
                country and the United States, or
                    ``(B) such person demonstrates to the satisfaction 
                of the Secretary that such foreign country has a 
                comprehensive income tax.
            ``(3) Nonqualified deferred compensation plan.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `nonqualified deferred 
                compensation plan' has the meaning given such term 
                under section 409A(d), except that such term shall 
                include any plan that provides a right to compensation 
                based on the appreciation in value of a specified 
                number of equity units of the service recipient.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Compensation shall not be treated 
                as deferred for purposes of this section if the service 
                provider receives payment of such compensation not 
                later than 12 months after the end of the taxable year 
                of the service recipient during which the right to the 
                payment of such compensation is no longer subject to a 
                substantial risk of forfeiture.
            ``(4) Exception for certain compensation with respect to 
        effectively connected income.--In the case of a foreign 
        corporation with income which is taxable under section 882, 
        this section shall not apply to compensation which, had such 
        compensation had been paid in cash on the date that such 
        compensation ceased to be subject to a substantial risk of 
        forfeiture, would have been deductible by such foreign 
        corporation against such income.
            ``(5) Application of rules.--Rules similar to the rules of 
        paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 409A(d) shall apply.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 
as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this 
section, including regulations disregarding a substantial risk of 
forfeiture in cases where necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 26(b)(2) of such Code is amended 
by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (V), by striking the 
period at the end of subparagraph (W) and inserting ``, and'', and by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(X) section 457A(c)(1)(B) (relating to 
                determinability of amounts of compensation).''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of subpart B of part 
II of subchapter E of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 457 the following new item:

``Sec. 457A. Nonqualified deferred compensation from certain tax 
                            indifferent parties.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the amendments made by this section shall apply to 
        amounts deferred which are attributable to services performed 
        after December 31, 2008.
            (2) Application to existing deferrals.--In the case of any 
        amount deferred to which the amendments made by this section do 
        not apply solely by reason of the fact that the amount is 
        attributable to services performed before January 1, 2009, to 
        the extent such amount is not includible in gross income in a 
        taxable year beginning before 2018, such amounts shall be 
        includible in gross income in the later of--
                    (A) the last taxable year beginning before 2018, or
                    (B) the taxable year in which there is no 
                substantial risk of forfeiture of the rights to such 
                compensation (determined in the same manner as 
                determined for purposes of section 457A of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this section).
            (3) Accelerated payments.--No later than 120 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 
        guidance providing a limited period of time during which a 
        nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement attributable to 
        services performed on or before December 31, 2008, may, without 
        violating the requirements of section 409A(a) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986, be amended to conform the date of 
        distribution to the date the amounts are required to be 
        included in income.
            (4) Certain back-to-back arrangements.--If the taxpayer is 
        also a service recipient and maintains one or more nonqualified 
        deferred compensation arrangements for its service providers 
        under which any amount is attributable to services performed on 
        or before December 31, 2008, the guidance issued under 
        paragraph (4) shall permit such arrangements to be amended to 
        conform the dates of distribution under such arrangement to the 
        date amounts are required to be included in the income of such 
        taxpayer under this subsection.
            (5) Accelerated payment not treated as material 
        modification.--Any amendment to a nonqualified deferred 
        compensation arrangement made pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) 
        shall not be treated as a material modification of the 
        arrangement for purposes of section 409A of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986.

Summary: Enhancing Renewable Energy Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a 30% energy tax credit through 2016 for equipment used to produce electricity by geothermal power; and (2) require the inclusion in gross income for income tax purposes of employee compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan of certain foreign entities when there is no substantial risk of forfeiture of the rights to such compensation.

Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 to allow an extension of the grant period for specified energy property in lieu of applicable tax credits.