Title: CLAW Act of 2022
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Conserving Lobstering And Whales Act of 2022 or the CLAW Act of 2022
This bill allows an eligible lobstering business a new tax credit for 30% of the cost of any adaptive gear required to prevent the entanglement of right whales.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7849 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7849

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 
 tax for the purchase of certain adaptive gear required to prevent the 
                     entanglement of right whales.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2022

  Mr. Moulton (for himself and Mr. Keating) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 
 tax for the purchase of certain adaptive gear required to prevent the 
                     entanglement of right whales.

    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 ``Conserving Lobstering And Whales Act 
of 2022'' or the ``CLAW Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. ADAPTIVE GEAR REQUIRED TO PREVENT RIGHT WHALE ENTANGLEMENT.

    (a) Allowance of Credit.--
            (1) In general.--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 section:

``SEC. 45U. ADAPTIVE GEAR REQUIRED TO PREVENT RIGHT WHALE ENTANGLEMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, in the case of an 
eligible lobstering business, the right whale entanglement prevention 
credit determined under this section for any taxable year is an amount 
equal to 30 percent of the amounts paid or incurred by the taxpayer for 
the taxable year for the purchase of any adaptive gear required by 
State or Federal law or regulation to prevent the entanglement of right 
whales in the course of the trade or business of lobstering.
    ``(b) Eligible Lobstering Business.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `eligible lobstering business' means any person--
                    ``(A) engaged in the trade or business of 
                lobstering, and
                    ``(B) that submits a return of tax with respect to 
                such taxable year that includes each of the following, 
                as applicable, but in any case not less than 1 of--
                            ``(i) a State commercial lobster license 
                        for such person, and
                            ``(ii) a Federal vessel identification 
                        number for each vessel used by such person in 
                        the course of the trade or business of 
                        lobstering.
            ``(2) Controlled groups.--All persons which are treated as 
        a single employer under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 
        shall be treated as a single taxpayer for purposes of this 
        subsection.
    ``(c) Adaptive Gear.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`adaptive gear' means--
            ``(1) gear required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration as part of the Atlantic Large Whale Take 
        Reduction Plan, and
            ``(2) equipment used for electronic vessel tracking 
        required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for 
        North Atlantic right whale risk reduction.''.
            (2) Credit made part of general business credit.--Section 
        38(b) of such Code is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end 
        of paragraph (32), by striking the period at the end of 
        paragraph (33) and inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the 
        end the following new paragraph:
            ``(34) in the case of an eligible lobstering business, the 
        right whale entanglement prevention credit determined under 
        45U(a).''.
            (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for subpart 
        D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45U. Adaptive gear required to prevent right whale 
                            entanglement.''.
    (b) Direct Pay Option.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter B of chapter 65 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:

``SEC. 6431. ELECTIVE PAYMENT OF RIGHT WHALE ENTANGLEMENT PREVENTION 
              CREDIT.

    ``(a) In General.--In the case of a taxpayer making an election (at 
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may provide) under this 
section with respect to any portion of the right whale entanglement 
prevention credit determined under section 45U(a), such taxpayer shall 
be treated as making a payment against the tax imposed by subtitle A 
for the taxable year equal to such amount.
    ``(b) Timing.--The payment described in subsection (a) shall be 
treated as made on the later of the due date of the return of tax 
(determined without extensions) for such taxable year or the date on 
which such return is filed.
    ``(c) Exclusion From Gross Income.--Gross income of the taxpayer 
shall be determined without regard to this section.
    ``(d) Denial of Double Benefit.--Solely for purposes of section 38, 
in the case of a taxpayer making an election under this section, the 
right whale entanglement prevention credit determined under section 
45U(a) shall be reduced by the amount of the portion of such credit 
with respect to which the taxpayer makes such election.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for 
        subchapter B of chapter 65 of such Code is amended by adding at 
        the end the following new item:

``Sec. 6431. Elective payment of right whale entanglement prevention 
                            credit.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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