II
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2199
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 26, 2006
Mr. Domenici (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Warner, Mr. Obama, Mr. Bond, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Burns, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Craig, Mr. Bayh, Mrs. Hutchison, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Smith, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Allen, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Talent, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Biden, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Hagel, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Collins, Mr. Vitter, and Ms. Landrieu) 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 tax incentives to promote research and development, innovation, and continuing education.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Protecting America's Competitive Edge
Through Tax Incentives Act of 2006
or the
PACE–Finance
Act
.
Expansion of credit for research and development
Credit made permanent
In general
Section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to credit for increasing research activities) is amended by striking subsection (h).
Conforming amendment
Paragraph (1) of section 45C(b) of such Code is amended by striking subparagraph (D).
Effective date
The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date of the enactment of this Act, in taxable years ending after such date.
Credit rate doubled
Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 41(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 are each amended by striking 20 percent
and
inserting 40 percent
.
New regulations and guidelines authorized
The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue such regulations or guidelines as are necessary—
to provide uniform conduct of tax audits relating to the credit under section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and
to reflect the changing impact of technology on the character of research and development, such as use of databases provided by external parties and the conduct of research and development through joint ventures.
Expansion of credit to expenses of general collaborative research consortia
Section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
by striking
an energy research consortium
in subsections (a)(3) and
(b)(3)(C)(i) and inserting a research consortium
,
by striking
energy
each place it appears in subsection (f)(6)(A),
by inserting
or 501(c)(6)
after section 501(c)(3)
in
subsection (f)(6)(A)(i)(I), and
by striking
Energy
research
in the heading for subsection (f)(6)(A) and
inserting Research
.
Study of further expansion of credit
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall study and make recommendations in a report to the President, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives on the following possible methods of expanding the scope of the credit under section 41 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986:
Modification of the credit to remove the incremental approach of measuring creditable research and development expenditures for taxpayers with significant and consistent annual research and development expenditures.
Expansion of qualifying research and development expenditures to include—
certain employee benefit costs related to qualifying wages,
100 percent of contract research costs,
all expenditures which would qualify for treatment under section 174 of such Code,
any other costs determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Reduction or elimination of limitation of credit under section 280C(c) of such Code.
Effective date
Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2005.
United States-based innovation incentives study
Study
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall conduct an analysis of the United States tax system and its effect on this country as a location for innovation investment and related activities. The analysis shall include a comparison of the tax policies of other nations relating to long-term innovation investment and an examination of various features of the United States tax system, including—
the treatment of capital gains, including the appropriate rate for very long-term investments or the appropriate allowance for loss write-offs,
the overall corporate tax rate, and
incentives for high-tech manufacturing and research equipment through tax credits and accelerated depreciation.
Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report on the study and analysis described in subsection (a) to the President, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
Employee continuing education tax credit
In general
Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
Employee continuing education credit
Amount of credit
In general
For purposes of section 38, the employee continuing education credit determined under this section with respect to any employer for any taxable year is the applicable percentage of qualified continuing education costs paid or incurred by the employer during the calendar year ending with or within such taxable year.
Applicable percentage
For purposes of this section, the applicable percentage is the percentage determined by the Secretary such that the amount of the credit allowable under this section for any calendar year does not exceed $500,000,000.
Qualified continuing education costs
For purposes of this section, the term qualified continuing education costs means costs paid or incurred by an employer for education to maintain or improve knowledge or skills in science or engineering of an employee whose employment requires knowledge or skills in science or engineering.
Regulations
The Secretary may prescribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section, including regulations establishing standards for educational courses and programs to which this section applies.
.
Credit made part of general business credit
Section 38(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking and
at the end of
paragraph (25), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (26) and
inserting , and
, and by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
the employee continuing education credit determined under section 45N(a).
.
Denial of double benefit
Section 280C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
Employee continuing education credit
No deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the expenses otherwise allowable as a deduction for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of the credit determined under section 45N(a).
.
Clerical Amendment
The table of sections for 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 item:
Sec. 45N. Employee continuing education credit.
.
Effective Date
The amendments made by this section shall apply to costs paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2005.