[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 243 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 243

To provide for a short term reinstatement of expired Airport and Airway 
               Trust Fund taxes, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 1997

   Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Ford, and Mr. Gorton) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for a short term reinstatement of expired Airport and Airway 
               Trust Fund taxes, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Airport and Airway Trust Fund Taxes 
Short Term Reinstatement Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY REINSTATEMENT OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND TAXES.

    (a) Fuel Tax.--
            (1) Subparagraph (A) of section 4091(b)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) The rate of tax specified in paragraph (1) 
                shall be 4.3 cents per gallon--
                            ``(i) after December 31, 1996, and before 
                        the date which is 7 calendar days after the 
                        date of the enactment of the Airport and Airway 
                        Trust Fund Taxes Short Term Reinstatement Act; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) after September 29, 1997.''
            (2) Paragraph (2) of section 4081(d) of such Code is 
        amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Aviation gasoline.--The rate of tax specified in 
        clause (i) of subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be 4.3 cents per 
        gallon--
                    ``(A) after December 31, 1996, and before the date 
                which is 7 calendar days after the date of the 
                enactment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Taxes 
                Short Term Reinstatement Act; and
                    ``(B) after September 29, 1997.''.
            (3) The second paragraph (3) of section 4081(d) of such 
        Code is repealed.
            (4) Section 4041(c)(5) of such Code is amended to read as 
        follows:
            ``(5) Termination.--The taxes imposed by paragraphs (1) and 
        (2) shall apply during the following periods:
                    ``(A) The period beginning on August 27, 1996, and 
                ending on December 31, 1996.
                    ``(B) The period beginning on the date which is 7 
                calendar days after the date of the enactment of the 
                Airport and Airway Trust Fund Taxes Short Term 
                Reinstatement Act and ending on September 29, 1997.''.
    (b) Ticket Taxes.--Sections 4261(g) and 4271(d) are each amended by 
striking ``1997.'' and inserting ``1997, and to transportation 
beginning on or after the date which is 7 days after the date of 
enactment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Taxes Short Term 
Reinstatement Act, and before September 30, 1997.'';
    (c) Transfer to Airport and Airway Trust Fund.--
            (1) Subsection (b) of section 9502 is amended by striking 
        ``January 1, 1997,'' each place it appears and inserting 
        ``September 30, 1997,''.
            (2) Paragraph (3) of section 9502(f) is amended to read as 
        follows:
            ``(3) Termination.--Notwithstanding the preceding 
        provisions of this subsection, the Airport and Airway Trust 
        Fund financing rate shall be zero with respect to--
                    ``(A) taxes imposed after December 31, 1996, and 
                before the date which is 7 calendar days after the date 
                of the enactment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund 
                Taxes Short Term Reinstatement Act; and
                    ``(B) taxes imposed after September 29, 1997.''
    (d) Floor Stocks Taxes on Aviation Fuel.--
            (1) Imposition of tax.--In the case of aviation fuel on 
        which tax was imposed under section 4091 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 before the tax-increase date described in 
        paragraph (3)(A)(i) and which is held on that date by any 
        person, there is hereby imposed a floor stocks tax of 17.5 
        cents per gallon.
            (2) Liability for tax and method of payment.--
                    (A) Liability for tax.--A person holding aviation 
                fuel on a tax-increase date to which the tax imposed by 
                paragraph (1) applies shall be liable for that tax.
                    (B) Method of payment.--The tax imposed by 
                paragraph (1) shall be paid in the manner the Secretary 
                prescribes.
                    (C) Time for payment.--The tax imposed by paragraph 
                (1) with respect to any tax-increase date shall be paid 
                on or before the first day of the 7th month beginning 
                after that tax-increase date.
            (3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    (A) The Code.--The term ``the Code'' means the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
                    (B) Tax increase date.--The term ``tax-increase 
                date'' means the date which is 7 calendar days after 
                the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (C) Aviation fuel.--The term ``aviation fuel'' has 
                the meaning given that term by section 4093 of the 
                Code.
                    (D) Held by a person.--Aviation fuel shall be 
                considered as ``held by a person'' if title thereto has 
                passed to that person (whether or not delivery to the 
                person has been made).
                    (E) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
                Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.
            (4) Exception for certain uses.--The tax imposed by 
        paragraph (1) shall not apply to aviation fuel held by any 
        person on the tax-increase date exclusively for any use for 
        which a credit or refund of the entire tax imposed by section 
        4091 of the Code is allowable for aviation fuel purchased on or 
        after the tax-increase date for that use.
            (5) Exception for certain amounts of fuel.--
                    (A) In general.--No tax shall be imposed by 
                paragraph (1) on aviation fuel held on the tax-increase 
                date by any person if the aggregate amount of aviation 
                fuel held by that person on that date does not exceed 
                2,000 gallons. The preceding sentence shall apply only 
                if that person submits to the Secretary (at the time 
                and in the manner required by the Secretary) such 
                information as the Secretary shall require for purposes 
                of this paragraph.
                    (B) Exempt fuel.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), 
                there shall not be taken into account fuel held by any 
                person which is exempt from the tax imposed by 
paragraph (1) by reason of paragraph (4).
                    (C) Controlled groups.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph--
                            (i) Corporations.--
                                    (I) In general.--All persons 
                                treated as a controlled group shall be 
                                treated as 1 group.
                                    (II) Controlled group.--The term 
                                ``controlled group'' has the meaning 
                                given to that term by subsection (a) of 
                                section 1563 of the Code; except that 
                                for these purposes the phrase ``more 
                                than 50 percent'' shall be substituted 
                                for the phrase ``at least 80 percent'' 
                                each place it appears in that 
                                subsection.
                            (ii) Nonincorporated persons under common 
                        control.--Under regulations prescribed by the 
                        Secretary, principles similar to the principles 
                        of clause (i) shall apply to a group of persons 
                        under common control where 1 or more of those 
                        persons is not a corporation.
            (6) Other law applicable.--All provisions of law, including 
        penalties, applicable with respect to the taxes imposed by 
        section 4091 of the Code shall, insofar as applicable and not 
        inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, apply with 
        respect to the floor stock taxes imposed by paragraph (1) to 
        the same extent as if those taxes were imposed by section 4091 
        of the Code.
    (d) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendments made by this section take 
        effect 7 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Transportation using tickets purchased during lapse 
        period.--The taxes imposed by sections 4261 and 4271 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 do not apply to amounts paid for 
        taxable transportation (as defined in section 4262 and 4272 of 
        the Code, respectively) after December 31, 1996, and before the 
        effective date of the amendments made by this section.

SEC. 3. TAXES COLLECTED DURING TAXABLE PERIOD TO BE TRANSFERRED 
              REGARDLESS OF WHEN PAID.

    (a) In General.--Section 9502(b) of the Code is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following:
``Any amount received in the Treasury after the later of the 2 dates 
set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4), and on or after the date set 
forth in paragraph (3), shall be treated as received on the day before 
such date (regardless of when received) if the amount relates to a tax 
that described in this subsection that was in effect on the day before 
such date.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) applies 
with respect to amounts received after December 31, 1995.
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