A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a Federal income tax credit for certain stem cell research expenditures.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ethical Stem Cell Research Tax 
Credit Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR ETHICAL STEM CELL RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
(relating to business related credits) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 45O. ETHICAL STEM CELL RESEARCH.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--For purposes of section 38, in the case 
of an eligible taxpayer, the ethical stem cell research credit 
determined under this section for the taxable year shall be an amount 
equal to 30 percent of the qualified stem cell research expenses paid 
or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year.
    ``(b) Eligible Taxpayer.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible taxpayer' means any taxpayer that elects the application of 
this section for the taxable year.
    ``(c) Qualified Stem Cell Research Expenses.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified stem cell research 
        expenses' means expenses which are paid or incurred by the 
        eligible taxpayer during the taxable year in carrying on basic 
        and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, 
        derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem 
        cells that may result in improved understanding of or 
        treatments for diseases and other adverse health conditions, no 
        part of which may involve--
                    ``(A) the creation of a human embryo for research 
                purposes,
                    ``(B) the destruction of or discarding of, or risk 
                of injury to, a human embryo, or
                    ``(C) the use of any stem cell, the derivation or 
                provision of which would be inconsistent with 
                subparagraph (A) or (B).
            ``(2) Human embryo.--The term `human embryo' means any 
        organism not protected as a human subject under part 46 of 
        title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
        of the enactment of this section) that is derived by 
        fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means 
        from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells.
            ``(3) Risk of injury.--The term `risk of injury' means 
        subjecting a human embryo to risk of injury or death greater 
        than that allowed for research on a fetus in utero under 
        section 498(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        289g(b)) (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
        section) and section 46.204(b) of title 45, Code of Federal 
        Regulations (as so in effect).
    ``(d) Treatment of Qualified Stem Cell Research Expenses.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any 
        qualified stem cell research expenses for a taxable year to 
        which an election under this section applies shall not be taken 
        into account for purposes of determining the credit allowable 
        under section 41 for such taxable year.
            ``(2) Treated as base period research expenses.--Any 
        qualified stem cell research expenses for any taxable year 
        which are qualified research expenses (within the meaning of 
        section 41(b)) shall be taken into account in determining base 
        period research expenses for purposes of applying section 41 to 
        subsequent taxable years.
    ``(e) Special Rules.--
            ``(1) Limitation.--No credit shall be allowed under this 
        section with respect to any stem cell research conducted by a 
        corporation to which an election under section 936 applies.
            ``(2) Aggregation of expenditures and allocations of 
        credit.--Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        of section 41(f) and section 41(g) shall apply for purposes of 
        this section.''.
    (b) Credit Allowed as Part of General Business Credit.--Section 
38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
``plus'' at the end of paragraph (30), by striking the period at the 
end of paragraph (31) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(32) the ethical stem cell research credit determined 
        under section 45O(a).''.
    (c) Denial of Double Benefit.--Section 280C of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(f) Ethical Stem Cell Research Credit.--
            ``(1) In general.--No deduction shall be allowed for that 
        portion of the qualified stem cell research expenses (as 
        defined in section 45O(c)(1)) otherwise allowable as a 
        deduction for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of 
        the credit determined for such taxable year under section 
        45O(a).
            ``(2) Similar rule where taxpayer capitalizes rather than 
        deducts expenses.--If--
                    ``(A) the amount of the credit determined for the 
                taxable year under section 45O(a), exceeds
                    ``(B) the amount allowable as a deduction for such 
                taxable year for qualified stem cell research expenses 
                (determined without regard to paragraph (1)),
        the amount chargeable to capital account for the taxable year 
        for such expenses shall be reduced by the amount of such 
        excess.
            ``(3) Controlled groups.--Paragraph (3) of subsection (b) 
        shall apply for purposes of this subsection.''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45O. Ethical stem cell research.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

Summary: Ethical Stem Cell Research Tax Credit Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 30% of qualified stem cell research expenses paid or incurred in a taxable year. Defines "qualified stem cell research expenses" as expenses for carrying out basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of or treatments for diseases and other adverse health conditions. Prohibits a tax credit for any research expenses that may involve: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction of or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell for prohibited purposes.