American Infrastructure Investment and Improvement Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-2345
Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Introduced: 2007-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Air traffic
Airline employees
Airline passenger traffic
Airports
Alcohol as fuel
Appropriations
Aviation fuels
Biomass energy
Bonds
Bridges
Collection of accounts
Commerce
Corporation taxes
Diesel motor
Economics and Public Finance
Energy
Environmental Protection
Excise tax
Expatriation
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to transportation
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign corporations
Free ports and zones
Gasoline
Gift tax
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government trust funds
Great Lakes
Harbors
Highway finance
Immigration
Income tax
Individual retirement accounts
Infrastructure
Interest
Interest rates
Labor and Employment
Law
Liability for environmental damages
Marine terminals
Minnesota
Motor vehicle pollution control
New York City
New York State
Oil pollution
Pension funds
Private aviation
Punitive damages
Railroad engineering
Railroad finance
Road construction
St. Lawrence Seaway
Tax administration
Tax credits
Tax deductions
Tax evasion
Tax exemption
Tax penalties
Tax rates
Tax returns
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Taxation
Taxation of foreign income
Taxpayers
Tourism
Valuation
Withholding tax

Summary:
action_date: 2007-11-13
text: 
American Infrastructure Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2011: (1) the excise taxes on aviation fuels and transportation of persons and property by air; and (2) the expenditure authority for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. 

Imposes a new excise tax rate on aviation-grade kerosene.

Increases the excise tax imposed on tickets for air travel beginning and ending in the United States. 

Establishes within the Airport and Airway Trust Fund an Air Traffic Control System Modernization Account. 

Repeals the exemption from air transportation excise taxes for transportation by small aircraft operating on nonestablished lines. 

Increases funding for the Highway Trust Fund.

Increases the rate of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax and extends such tax through 2017.

Denies a tax deduction for punitive damages in connection with a judgment or settlement of any claim. 

Establishes a Motor Fuel Tax Enforcement Advisory Commission for the review of motor revenue fuel collections. 

Restructures tax incentives for investment in the New York Liberty Zone.

Increases penalties for failure to file certain tax informational returns. 

Exempts from the harbor maintenance tax certain commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at U.S. ports in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System.

Allows a new tax credit for investment in qualified rail infrastructure bonds.

Limits the deductibility of fines and penalties paid to a government for violations of law. 

Sets forth additional rules for the tax treatment of high-income individuals who relinquish U.S. citizenship or residency to avoid U.S. taxation (expatriates). 

action_date: 2007-11-13
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

American Infrastructure Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - 
Title I: Airport And Airway Trust Fund Provisions And Related Taxes 
- (Sec. 101) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2011 the excise taxes on aviation fuels and the transportation of persons and property by air.

(Sec. 102) Extends through FY2011 the expenditure authority for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

(Sec. 103) Imposes an excise tax on aviation-grade kerosene of 35.9 cents per gallon (4.3 cents per gallon for fuel used in commercial aviation). 

(Sec. 104) Increases to $16.65 the excise tax imposed on tickets for air travel beginning or ending in the United States (use of international travel facilities).

(Sec. 105) Establishes within the Airport and Airway Trust Fund an Air Traffic Control System Modernization Account.

(Sec. 106) Imposes a tax of $58 on each departure of an aircraft which is part of a fractional ownership aircraft program as defined by this Act.

(Sec. 107) Repeals the exemption from air transportation excise taxes for transportation by small aircraft operating on nonestablished lines. Retains such exemption for small aircraft operating solely for sightseeing purposes.

(Sec. 108) Prohibits all transportation providers from including amounts other than charges payable to a government entity in the required disclosure of passenger taxes on tickets and in advertising. 

(Sec. 109) Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to impose new interest rate requirements for new accruals under air carrier pension plans. 

Title II: Increased Funding For Highway Trust Fund
 - (Sec. 201) Appropriates $3.4 billion to the Highway Trust Fund for replenishment of emergency spending.

(Sec. 202) Suspends for six months after enactment of this Act transfers from the Highway Trust Fund for certain repayments and credits relating to nontaxable uses of fuel.

(Sec. 203) Defines &quot;United States&quot; for purposes of the excise tax on taxable fuels to include any foreign trade zone or bonded warehouse located in the United States. 

(Sec. 204) Expands the penalty for the sale of fuel which does not meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to include any fuel held out for sale that does not meet the standards for distribution to the public.

(Sec. 205) Includes in the definition of &quot;taxable fuel,&quot; for excise tax purposes, qualified alcohol and biodiesel fuel mixtures. 

(Sec. 206) Excludes any denaturant added to alcohol from the volume measurements for purposes of the alcohol fuels tax credit. 

(Sec. 207) Disqualifies finished gasoline from the tax exemption allowed for certain bulk transfers of taxable fuels.

(Sec. 208) Increases the rate of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax and extends such tax through 2017. 

(Sec. 209) Sets for a special rule for the tax treatment of inverted corporations as domestic corporations for inversion transactions occurring after March 20, 2002, and on or before March 4, 2003.

(Sec. 210) Denies a tax deduction for punitive damages in connection with a judgment or settlement of any claim. 

(Sec. 211) Makes technical corrections to provisions of: (1) the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA); (2) the Energy Policy Act of 2005; and (3) the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.

(Sec. 212) Revises requirements for the Motor Fuel Tax Enforcement Advisory Commission established by SAFETEA for the review of motor revenue fuel collections. Requires such Commission to report to Congress, not later than September 30, 2009, on its findings relating to fuel collections. Provides for the termination of the Commission and the transmission of its records to the National Archives.

(Sec. 213) Makes conforming amendments to the Highway Trust Fund provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the authorization of funds for emergency repairs and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35 bridge in Minnesota.

Title III: Additional Infrastructure Modifications And Revenue Provisions
 - (Sec. 301) Allows a tax credit against payroll liabilities of New York Liberty Zone governmental units (i.e., New York State, the City of New York, or any agencies or instrumentalities thereof) for expenditures involving transportation infrastructure projects in or connecting with the Zone. Requires annual reports to the Secretary of the Treasury by the Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York City on project expenditures. Terminates such credit after 2024.

(Sec. 302) Allows participants in certain deferred compensation plans to treat elective deferrals as Roth individual retirement account (IRA) contributions. 

(Sec. 303) Increases penalties for failure to file correct information tax returns, for failure to furnish correct payee statements, and for failure to comply with other information reporting requirements. 

(Sec. 304) Exempts commercial cargo (other than bulk cargo) loaded or unloaded at U.S. ports in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System from the harbor maintenance tax. Defines the &quot;Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System&quot; as the waterway between Duluth, Minnesota and Sept. Iles, Quebec, Canada, encompassing the five Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the Saint Lawrence River. 

(Sec. 305) Allows holders of qualified rail infrastructure bonds a tax credit for 25% of the annual credit amount for such bonds as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

(Sec. 306) Repeals provisions providing for a 36-month suspension of interest and penalties on tax underpayments for taxpayers who had not been notified of a tax deficiency by the IRS.

(Sec. 307) Revises the rule denying a tax deduction for fines and penalties paid to a government for the violation of any law to provide that no deduction shall be allowed for any fine or penalty paid (whether by suit, agreement, or otherwise) to, or at the direction of, a government or nongovernmental regulatory entity for a violation of law or for the investigation or inquiry into such a violation.

Allows exceptions to the general rule of nondeductibility for: (1) certain restitution payments or payments required to come into compliance with law; (2) court-ordered payments not involving a government or nongovernmental regulatory entity; and (3) amounts paid or incurred as taxes due.

Requires governmental agencies involved in a settlement with a taxpayer to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and the taxpayer information about such settlement, including the amount of the settlement, the amount paid as restitution or remediation of property, and the amount paid to come into compliance with law.

(Sec. 308) Sets forth additional rules for the tax treatment of high-income individuals who relinquish U.S. citizenship or residency to avoid U.S. taxation (expatriates). Treats all property of expatriates as sold for its fair market value on the day before the expatriation date and includes gain (over $600,000) or loss from such sale in the gross income of such expatriates. Allows expatriates to elect to defer payment of any tax resulting from expatriation if adequate security for payment of such tax is given.

Requires 30% withholding of tax for certain items of deferred compensation payable to expatriates.

Imposes a separate tax on gifts and bequests from expatriates exceeding $10,000, payable by the recipient of such gift or bequest.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-11-13
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 482.
action_date: 2007-11-13
text: Committee on Finance. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Baucus. With written report No. 110-228. Additional views filed.
action_date: 2007-11-13
text: Committee on Finance. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Baucus. With written report No. 110-228. Additional views filed.
action_date: 2007-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate