I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5872
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 2, 2023
Ms. Titus (for herself, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Hill, Mr. Beyer, and Ms. Tenney) 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 postpone tax deadlines and reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act
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Postponement of tax deadlines for hostages and individuals wrongfully detained abroad
In general
Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 7510 the following new section:
Time for performing certain acts postponed for hostages and individuals wrongfully detained abroad
Time To be disregarded
In general
Any applicable individual shall be entitled to the benefits of section 7508 in the same manner as if such individual was performing services described in subsection (a) of such section for any period in which such individual was—
unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad, or
held hostage abroad.
Application to spouse
The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to the spouse of any individual entitled to the benefits of such paragraph.
Applicable individual
In general
For purposes of this section, the term applicable individual means any individual who is—
included on the list of United States nationals unlawfully or wrongfully detained that is included in the annual report required under section 302(c) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741(c)), or
a United States national taken hostage abroad, as determined pursuant to the findings of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (as described in section 304 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741b)).
Information provided to Treasury
For purposes of identifying individuals described in paragraph (1), not later than January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter—
the Secretary of State shall provide the Secretary with the report described in paragraph (1)(A), as well as any other information necessary to identify the individuals described in such report, and
the Attorney General, acting through the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, shall provide the Secretary with a list of the individuals described in paragraph (1)(B), as well as any other information necessary to identify such individuals.
Refund and abatement of penalties and fines imposed prior to identification as applicable individual
In the case of any applicable individual—
for whom any interest, penalty, additional amount, or addition to the tax in respect to any tax liability for any taxable year ending during the period described in subsection (a)(1) was assessed or collected, and
who was, subsequent to such assessment or collection, included on the list described in subsection (b)(1)(A) or determined pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) to be a United States national taken hostage abroad,
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Clerical amendment
The table of sections for chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7510 the following new item:
Sec. 7511. Time for performing certain acts postponed for hostages and individuals wrongfully detained abroad.
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Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of enactment of this Act.
Refund and abatement of penalties and fines paid by eligible individuals
In general
Section 7511 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by section 2, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
Refund and abatement of penalties and fines paid by eligible individuals
In general
Establishment
Not later than January 1, 2024, the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General) shall establish a program to allow any eligible individual (or the spouse or any dependent (as defined in section 152) of such individual) to apply for a refund or an abatement of any amount described in paragraph (2) (including interest) to the extent such amount was attributable to the applicable period.
Identification of individuals
Not later than January 1, 2024, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, acting through the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (as described in section 304 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741b)), shall—
compile a list, based on such information as is available, of individuals who were applicable individuals during the applicable period, and
provide the list described in clause (i) to the Secretary.
Notice
For purposes of carrying out the program described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General) shall, with respect to any individual identified under subparagraph (B), provide notice to such individual—
in the case of an individual who has been released on or before the date of enactment of this subsection, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, or
in the case of an individual who is released after the date of enactment of this subsection, not later than 90 days after the date on which such individual is released,
Authorization
In general
Subject to clause (ii), in the case of any refund described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall issue such refund to the eligible individual in the same manner as any refund of an overpayment of tax.
Extension of limitation on time for refund
With respect to any refund under subparagraph (A)—
the 3-year period of limitation prescribed by section 6511(a) shall not expire before the date which is 1 year after the date the notice described in subparagraph (C) is provided to the eligible individual, and
any limitation under section 6511(b)(2) shall not apply.
Eligible individual
For purposes of this subsection, the term eligible individual means any applicable individual who, for any taxable year ending during the applicable period, paid or incurred any interest, penalty, additional amount, or addition to the tax in respect to any tax liability for such year of such individual based on a determination that an act described in paragraph (1) of section 7508(a) which was not performed by the time prescribed therefor (without regard to any extensions).
Applicable period
For purposes of this subsection, the term applicable period means the period—
beginning on January 1, 2021, and
ending on the date of enactment of this subsection.
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Effective date
The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending on or before the date of enactment of this Act.