Stopping Abortion Bounties Act
Bill: H.R.6300 | Sponsor: Rep. Fletcher, Lizzie (D-TX)
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Stopping Abortion Bounties Act
This bill imposes a 100% tax on amounts received as statutory damages under a state bounty statute. A bounty statute is a statute that authorizes a person to file a civil action and collect damages for assisting another person in exercising the right to have an abortion.
The bill also directs the Department of the Treasury to award a grant to any person who pays or incurs amounts under a court order resulting from a suit filed under a bounty statute, including the amount paid or incurred as statutory damages and reasonable attorney's fees.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a tax of 100 
percent on amounts received as statutory damages under certain lawsuits 
 filed under State law and to require the Secretary of the Treasury to 
  issue grants for amounts paid under such State laws and reasonable 
                            attorney's fees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping Abortion Bounties Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Abortion is an essential health care service and allows 
        individuals to have full autonomy over their bodies and their 
        pregnancies, their families, and their lives.
            (2) In 1973, the United States Supreme Court issued its 
        landmark decision in Roe v. Wade guaranteeing the 
        constitutional right to abortion.
            (3) In the nearly fifty years since the Roe v. Wade 
        decision, anti-abortion politicians have attempted to--and in 
        some cases succeeded in--passing laws to restrict access to 
        abortion.
            (4) On May 19, 2021, the Governor of Texas signed Senate 
        Bill 8 (hereafter referred to as ``S.B. 8'') into law, which 
        bans abortion care after approximately six weeks of pregnancy--
        before many people even know they are pregnant.
            (5) The Supreme Court allowed this unconstitutional law to 
        go into effect on September 1, 2021, and remain in place in the 
        following months.
            (6) As a result of this law, many Texans have been forced 
        to travel hundreds of miles and cross State lines to access 
        constitutionally protected health care or to carry pregnancies 
        to term against their will.
            (7) Many people who obtain abortions in Texas are at least 
        six weeks into pregnancy, meaning that abortion in most 
        instances will be out of reach for patients for as long as the 
        law is in effect.
            (8) S.B. 8 provides a private right of action allowing 
        ``any person'' to sue abortion providers and ``any person'' who 
        helps a person obtain an abortion after approximately six weeks 
        of pregnancy or intends to do so.
            (9) S.B. 8 incentivizes private individuals to sue by 
        providing that a prevailing plaintiff shall receive at least 
        $10,000 in damages, as well as costs and attorney's fees.
            (10) This ban is an attempt to isolate individuals seeking 
        abortions in Texas from their communities and critical support 
        networks, discouraging them from helping for fear of being 
        sued.
            (11) Lawmakers in many other states have introduced or have 
        voiced their intent to introduce similar bills.
            (12) No one should profit from the restriction of abortion, 
        or a bounty intended to restrict access to fundamental 
        reproductive health care.

SEC. 3. TAX IMPOSED ON STATUTORY DAMAGES IN BOUNTY LAWSUITS.

    (a) Tax Imposed.--The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
inserting after section 3 the following new section:

``SEC. 4. TAX ON CERTAIN AMOUNTS RECEIVED AS STATUTORY DAMAGES.

    ``(a) In General.--There is hereby imposed a tax on amounts 
received as statutory damages under a State bounty statute of 100 
percent of such amounts on each taxpayer who receives such amounts in a 
taxable year.
    ``(b) Bounty Statute.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
`bounty statute' means a statute which authorizes a person to file a 
civil action and collect damages based on a violation of that statute, 
which violation involves exercising, or assisting another person in 
exercising, the constitutional right to have an abortion.
    ``(c) Exclusion From Gross Income.--Gross income of a taxpayer 
determined under any provision of this title shall be determined 
without regard to any income described in subsection (a).
    ``(d) Reporting.--The Secretary shall require reporting of such 
information and by such persons as the Secretary determines appropriate 
to prevent the avoidance of the tax imposed by this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for part I of 
subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 3 the following new item:

``Sec. 4. Tax on certain amounts received as statutory damages.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to 
amounts received after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. GRANT TO DEFENDANTS IN CERTAIN CIVIL SUITS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a grant 
to any person that pays or incurs amounts under a court order resulting 
from a suit filed under a bounty statute, as defined in section 4, in 
an amount equal to the sum of--
            (1) the amount paid or incurred by such person as statutory 
        damages under such bounty statute, and
            (2) reasonable attorney's fees paid or incurred relating to 
        such suit.
    (b) Grant Excluded From Income.--Gross income of a taxpayer 
determined under any provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
shall be determined without regard to this section.
    (c) Appropriation.--There is hereby appropriated to the Secretary 
of the Treasury the amount of the grants made under this section.
    (d) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue such regulations or 
other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the 
purposes of this section.
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