Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-4155
Sponsor: Rep. McCrery, Jim [R-LA-4]
Introduced: 2005-10-27 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Accounting
Alabama
Annuities
Building construction
Charitable contributions
Civil service retirement
Commerce
Corporation taxes
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal investigation
Depreciation and amortization
Disaster relief
Disasters
Displaced persons
Earned income tax credit
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Energy
Environmental Protection
Families
Federal employees
Federal law enforcement officers
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Floods
Florida
Government Operations and Politics
Government securities
Hazardous wastes
Home ownership
Housing and Community Development
Housing finance
Hurricane aftermath legislation
Hurricanes
Income tax
Individual retirement accounts
Infrastructure
Infrastructure (Economics)
Investment tax credit
Labor and Employment
Law
Liability for environmental damages
Loans
Losses
Louisiana
Low-income housing
Lumber trade
Maintenance and repair
Minimum tax
Mississippi
Mortgages
Oil pollution
Pension funds
Prosecution
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Public prosecutors
Public utilities
Reforestation
Refuse and refuse disposal
Relocation
Rental housing
Residential rehabilitation
Small business
Social Welfare
Tax administration
Tax credits
Tax deductions
Tax exclusion
Tax penalties
Tax refunds
Tax returns
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Tax-exempt securities
Texas
Transportation and Public Works
Travel costs
Wages
Water pollution control

Summary:
action_date: 2005-10-27
text: 
Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) as part of the Hurricane Katrina disaster area to provide tax benefits to businesses and individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina, including: (1) tax-exempt bond financing and additional advance refunding of existing bond obligations in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi; (2) increased depreciation and expensing allowances for GO Zone property; (3) expensing of GO Zone demolition and cleanup costs and environmental remediation costs; (4) increased expensing for GO Zone reforestation expenditures; and (5) carrybacks of net operating losses for certain GO Zone businesses and public utilities. 
 
Provides for federal guarantees of bonds issued in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi for revenue and infrastructure purposes related to Hurricane Katrina.
 
Establishes a Rita GO Zone as part of the Hurricane Rita disaster area and extends to businesses and individuals in such Zone tax benefits currently available in Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including: (1) tax-free distributions and loans from retirement plans for disaster relief; (2) suspension of limitations on personal casualty losses; and (3) adjustments to earned income of Hurricane Rita victims in 2005 to preserve eligibility for certain tax benefits. 
 
Allows certain small employers a business tax credit for up to 40 percent of the wages paid to employees in a GO Zone between August 29 and December 31, 2005.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should designate Gulf Coast Recovery Bonds in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-10-27
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2005-10-27
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-10-27
text: Introduced in House