Title: Rural Broadband Investment Tax Credit Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Rural Broadband Investment Tax Credit Act
This bill allows a new tax credit for up to 10% of investment in qualifying broadband projects, subject to specified limitations. The bill includes in the definition of qualifying broadband project any project that is designed solely to provide broadband service to one or more rural areas in which more than 50% of households lack access to adequate broadband service.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2867 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2867

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an investment 
                credit for qualified broadband projects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2019

Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an investment 
                credit for qualified broadband projects.

    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 ``Rural Broadband Investment Tax 
Credit Act''.

SEC. 2. INVESTMENT CREDIT FOR QUALIFYING BROADBAND PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart E of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 
section 48C the following new section:

``SEC. 48D. QUALIFYING BROADBAND PROJECT CREDIT.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 46, the qualifying 
broadband project credit for any taxable year is an amount equal to 10 
percent of the qualified investment for such taxable year with respect 
to any qualifying broadband project.
    ``(b) Qualified Investment.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a), the 
        qualified investment for any taxable year is the basis of 
        eligible property placed in service by the taxpayer during such 
        taxable year which is part of a qualifying broadband project--
                    ``(A)(i) the construction, reconstruction, or 
                erection of which is completed by the taxpayer, or
                    ``(ii) which is acquired by the taxpayer if the 
                original use of such property commences with the 
                taxpayer, and
                    ``(B) with respect to which depreciation (or 
                amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allowable.
            ``(2) Special rule for certain subsidized property.--Rules 
        similar to section 48(a)(4) (without regard to subparagraph (D) 
        thereof) shall apply for purposes of this section.
            ``(3) Certain qualified progress expenditures rules made 
        applicable.--Rules similar to the rules of subsections (c)(4) 
        and (d) of section 46 (as in effect on the day before the 
        enactment of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990) shall 
        apply for purposes of this section.
    ``(c) Limitation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The amount of the credit allowed under 
        subsection (a) for any taxable year with respect to any 
        qualifying broadband project shall not exceed the broadband 
        credit dollar amount allocated to such project by a State under 
        this section.
            ``(2) Broadband credit dollar amount.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The aggregate broadband credit 
                dollar amount which may be allocated for any calendar 
                year by any State shall not exceed the sum of--
                            ``(i) $5,000,000, plus
                            ``(ii) the amount that bears the same ratio 
                        to $2,500,000 as the population of individuals 
                        in the state residing in rural areas bears the 
                        population of individuals residing in rural 
                        areas in all States.
                    ``(B) Broadband credit dollar amount 
                carryforward.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the limitation under 
                        subparagraph (A) (determined without regard to 
                        this subparagraph) exceeds the aggregate amount 
                        of broadband credit dollar amounts allocated 
                        for any calendar year, such excess shall be 
                        treated as a broadband credit dollar amount 
                        carryforward and added to the limitation under 
                        such subparagraph for the 2 succeeding calendar 
                        years.
                            ``(ii) Ordering rules.--Broadband credit 
                        dollar amount carryforwards shall be treated as 
                        used in the order in which they arose.
    ``(d) Qualifying Broadband Project.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualifying broadband project' 
        means any project which--
                    ``(A) is designed solely to provide broadband 
                service to 1 or more areas--
                            ``(i) which are rural areas, and
                            ``(ii) in which more than 50 percent of 
                        residential households do not have access to 
                        fixed, terrestrial broadband service which 
                        delivers at least 10 megabits per second 
                        downstream and at least 1 megabit service 
                        upstream,
                    ``(B) results in gigabit capable Internet access to 
                residential or commercial locations but only if at 
                least 90 percent of the residential or commercial 
                locations provided such access under the project are 
                locations where, before the project, a broadband 
                service provider--
                            ``(i) did not provide service, or
                            ``(ii) did not provide service which meets 
                        the minimum speed requirements described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii), and
                    ``(C) is certified by the Secretary pursuant to 
                paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Qualifying broadband project certification program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, 
                in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal 
                Communications Commission and the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, shall establish a qualifying broadband 
                project certification program to consider and award 
                certifications for qualified investments eligible for 
                credits under this section.
                    ``(B) Application period.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each applicant for 
                        certification under this paragraph shall submit 
                        an application containing such information as 
                        the Secretary may require during each annual 
                        application period.
                            ``(ii) Annual application period.--For 
                        purposes of this paragraph, the term `annual 
                        application period' means a 60-day period 
                        beginning each calendar year on the date 
                        determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(C) Nomination.--A project may not be certified 
                under this paragraph unless--
                            ``(i) the project is nominated by a State 
                        or local government in a single, uniform 
                        application that is submitted to the Secretary 
                        by each State on behalf of projects nominated 
                        by the State and by its localities, and
                            ``(ii) such State or local government 
                        provides written assurances within the 
                        application under clause (i) that the project 
                        satisfies the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 
                        and (B) of paragraph (1).
                    ``(D) Certification.--Not later than 60 days after 
                the end of the annual application period, the 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman of the 
                Federal Communications Commission and the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, shall award certifications under this 
                section.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Eligible property.--The term `eligible property' 
        means any property which is a part of a qualifying broadband 
        project.
            ``(2) Rural area.--The term `rural area' has the meaning 
        given such term under section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated 
        Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)), 
        determined without regard to subparagraph (B) or (C) thereof.
            ``(3) State.--The term `State' means the 50 States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 46 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
        amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5), by 
        striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and inserting 
        ``, and'', and by adding at the end the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(7) the qualifying broadband project credit.''.
            (2) Section 49(a)(1)(C) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``and'' at the end of clause (iv), by striking the period at 
        the end of clause (v) and inserting ``, and'', and by adding at 
        the end the following new clause:
                            ``(vi) the basis of any property which is 
                        part of a qualifying broadband project under 
                        section 48D.''.
            (3) Section 50(a)(2)(E) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``or 48C(b)(2)'' and inserting ``48C(b)(2), or 48D(b)(3)''.
            (4) The table of sections for subpart E of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 48C the following new item:

``Sec. 48D. Qualifying broadband project credit.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to periods after December 31, 2019, in taxable years ending after 
such date, under rules similar to the rules of section 48(m) of such 
Code (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the 
Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990).
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