[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1041 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1041

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an exclusion for 
          all dividends and interest received by individuals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 1995

    Mr. Crane (for himself, Mr. Blute, Mr. McKeon, and Mr. Hancock) 
 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 provide an exclusion for 
          all dividends and interest received by individuals.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXCLUSION OF DIVIDENDS AND INTEREST RECEIVED BY INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) In General.--Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to amounts specifically 
excluded from gross income) is amended by inserting after section 115 
the following new section:

``SEC. 116. EXCLUSION OF DIVIDENDS AND INTEREST RECEIVED BY 
              INDIVIDUALS.

    ``(a) Exclusion From Gross Income.--Gross income does not include 
the sum of the amounts received during the taxable year by an 
individual as--
            ``(1) dividends from domestic corporations, or
            ``(2) interest.
    ``(b) Certain Dividends Excluded.--Subsection (a)(1) shall not 
apply to any dividend from a corporation which, for the taxable year of 
the corporation in which the distribution is made, or for the next 
preceding taxable year of the corporation, is a corporation exempt from 
tax under section 501 (relating to certain charitable, etc., 
organization) or section 521 (relating to farmers' cooperative 
associations).
    ``(c) Special Rules.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Distributions from regulated investment companies and 
        real estate investment trusts.--Subsection (a) shall apply with 
        respect to distributions by--
                    ``(A) regulated investment companies to the extent 
                provided in section 854(c), and
                    ``(B) real estate investment trusts to the extent 
                provided in section 857(c).
            ``(2) Distributions by a trust.--For purposes of subsection 
        (a), the amount of dividends and interest properly allocable to 
        a beneficiary under section 652 or 662 shall be deemed to have 
        been received by the beneficiary ratably on the same date that 
        the dividends and interest were received by the estate or 
        trust.
            ``(3) Certain nonresident aliens ineligible for 
        exclusion.--In the case of a nonresident alien individual, 
        subsection (a) shall apply only--
                    ``(A) in determining the tax imposed for the 
                taxable year pursuant to section 871(b)(1) and only in 
                respect of dividends and interest which are effectively 
                connected with the conduct of a trade or business 
                within the United States, or
                    ``(B) in determining the tax imposed for the 
                taxable year pursuant to section 877(b).''
    (b) Clerical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The table of sections for part III of subchapter B of 
        chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item 
        relating to section 115 the following new item:

                              ``Sec. 116. Exclusion of dividends and 
                                        interest received by 
                                        individuals.''
            (2) Paragraph (2) of section 265(a) of such Code is amended 
        by inserting before the period at the end thereof the 
        following: ``, or to purchase or carry obligations or shares, 
        or to make deposits, to the extent the interest thereon is 
        excludable from gross income under section 116''.
            (3) Subsection (c) of section 584 of such Code is amended 
        by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence:
``The proportionate share of each participant in the amount of 
dividends or interest received by the common trust fund and to which 
section 116 applies shall be considered for purposes of such section as 
having been received by such participant.''
            (4) Subsection (a) of section 643 of such Code is amended 
        by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Dividends or interest.--There shall be included the 
        amount of any dividends or interest excluded from gross income 
        pursuant to section 116.''
            (5) Section 854 of such Code is amended by adding at the 
        end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Treatment Under Section 116.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of section 116, in the case 
        of any dividend (other than a dividend described in subsection 
        (a)) received from a regulated investment company which meets 
        the requirements of section 852 for the taxable year in which 
        it paid the dividend--
                    ``(A) the entire amount of such dividend shall be 
                treated as a dividend if the aggregate dividends and 
                interest received by such company during the taxable 
                year equal or exceed 75 percent of its gross income, or
                    ``(B) if subparagraph (A) does not apply, a portion 
                of such dividend shall be treated as a dividend (and a 
                portion of such dividend shall be treated as interest) 
                based on the portion of the company's gross income 
                which consists of aggregate dividends or aggregate 
                interest, as the case may be.
        For purposes of the preceding sentence, gross income and 
        aggregate interest received shall each be reduced by so much of 
        the deduction allowable by section 163 for the taxable year as 
        does not exceed aggregate interest received for the taxable 
        year.
            ``(2) Notice to shareholders.--The amount of any 
        distribution by a regulated investment company which may be 
        taken into account as a dividend for purposes of the exclusion 
        under section 116 shall not exceed the amount so designated by 
        the company in a written notice to its shareholders mailed not 
        later than 45 days after the close of its taxable year.
            ``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) The term `gross income' does not include gain 
                from the sale or other disposition of stock or 
                securities.
                    ``(B) The term `aggregate dividends received' 
                includes only dividends received from domestic 
                corporations other than dividends described in section 
                116(b)(2). In determining the amount of any dividend 
                for purposes of this subparagraph, the rules provided 
                in section 116(c)(1) (relating to certain 
                distributions) shall apply.''
            (6) Subsection (c) of section 857 of such Code is amended 
        to read as follows:
    ``(c) Limitations Applicable to Dividends Received From Real Estate 
Investment Trusts.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of section 116 (relating to 
        an exclusion for dividends and interest received by 
        individuals) and section 243 (relating to deductions for 
        dividends received by corporations), a dividend received from a 
        real estate investment trust which meets the requirements of 
        this part shall not be considered as a dividend.
            ``(2) Treatment as interest.--In the case of a dividend 
        (other than a capital gain dividend, as defined in subsection 
        (b)(3)(C)) received from a real estate investment trust which 
        meets the requirements of this part for the taxable year in 
        which it paid the dividend--
                    ``(A) such dividend shall be treated as interest if 
                the aggregate interest received by the real estate 
                investment trust for the taxable year equals or exceeds 
                75 percent of its gross income, or
                    ``(B) if subparagraph (A) does not apply, the 
                portion of such dividend which bears the same ratio to 
                the amount of such dividend as the aggregate interest 
                received bears to gross income shall be treated as 
                interest.
            ``(3) Adjustments to gross income and aggregate interest 
        received.--For purposes of paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) gross income does not include the net capital 
                gain,
                    ``(B) gross income and aggregate interest received 
                shall each be reduced by so much of the deduction 
                allowable by section 163 for the taxable year (other 
                than for interest on mortgages on real property owned 
                by the real estate investment trust) as does not exceed 
                aggregate interest received by the taxable year, and
                    ``(C) gross income shall be reduced by the sum of 
                the taxes imposed by paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) of 
                section 857(b).
            ``(4) Notice to shareholders.--The amount of any 
        distribution by a real estate investment trust which may be 
        taken into account as interest for purposes of the exclusion 
        under section 116 shall not exceed the amount so designated by 
        the trust in a written notice to its shareholders mailed not 
        later than 45 days after the close of its taxable year.''
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1994.
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