[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 160 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 160

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the application 
            of the retail tax on heavy trucks and trailers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

 Mr. English of Pennsylvania 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 clarify the application 
            of the retail tax on heavy trucks and trailers.

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

SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF RETAIL TAX ON HEAVY TRUCKS AND TRAILERS.

    (a) Tractors Subject to Tax Only If Suitable for Use With Heavy 
Trailers or Semitrailers.--Paragraph (2) of section 4051(a) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to exclusion for trucks 
weighing 33,000 pounds or less) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Exclusion for trucks, etc., weighing 33,000 pounds or 
        less.--The tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
        article described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (E) of paragraph 
        (1) which is suitable for use with a vehicle which has a gross 
        vehicle weight of 33,000 pounds or less (as determined under 
        regulations prescribed by the Secretary).''
    (b) Certain Repairs and Modifications Not Treated as Manufacture.--
Section 4052 of such Code is amended by redesignating the subsection 
defining a long-term lease as subsection (e) and by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Certain Repairs and Modifications Not Treated as 
Manufacture.--
            ``(1) In general.--An article described in section 
        4051(a)(1) shall not be treated as manufactured or produced 
        solely by reason of repairs or modifications to the article 
        (including any modification which changes the transportation 
        function of the article or restores a wrecked article to a 
        functional condition) if the cost of such repairs and 
        modifications does not exceed 75 percent of the retail price of 
        a comparable new article.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the 
        article (as repaired or modified) would, if new, be taxable 
        under section 4051 and the article when new was not taxable 
        under this section or the corresponding provision of prior 
        law.''
    (c) Credit for Tire Tax in Lieu of Exclusion of Value of Tires in 
Computing Price.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (e) of section 4051 of such 
        Code is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Credit Against Tax for Tire Tax.--If--
            ``(1) tires are sold on or in connection with the sale of 
        any article, and
            ``(2) tax is imposed by this subchapter on the sale of such 
        tires,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this 
subchapter an amount equal to the tax (if any) imposed by section 4071 
on such tires.''
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subparagraph (B) of section 
        4052(b)(1) of such Code is amended by striking clause (iii), by 
        adding ``and'' at the end of clause (ii), and by redesignating 
        clause (iv) as clause (iii).
    (d) Simplification of Certification Procedures With Respect to 
Sales of Taxable Articles.--
            (1) Repeal of registration requirement.--Subsection (d) of 
        section 4052 of such Code is amended by striking ``rules of--'' 
        and all that follows through ``shall apply'' and inserting 
        ``rules of subsections (c) and (d) of section 4216 (relating to 
        partial payments) shall apply''.
            (2) Requirement to modify regulations.--Section 4052 of 
        such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(g) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations which 
permit, in lieu of any other certification, persons who are purchasing 
articles taxable under this subchapter for resale or leasing in a long-
term lease to execute a statement (made under penalties of perjury) on 
the sale invoice that such sale is for resale. The Secretary shall not 
impose any registration requirement as a condition of using such 
procedure.''
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on January 1, 1998.
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