[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4916 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4916

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the aggregate 
 cost of certain reusable pallets and containers and related property 
                which may be expensed under section 179.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2000

 Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself and Mr. Matsui) 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 increase the aggregate 
 cost of certain reusable pallets and containers and related property 
                which may be expensed under section 179.

    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 ``Landfill Reduction Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that:
            (1) While most forms of pollution are steadily being 
        reduced in the United States, solid waste discards are 
        projected to increase by 10 percent between 2000 and 2010, 
        based on Environmental Protection Agency data.
            (2) American consumers and businesses spend an estimated $1 
        billion annually to dispose of cardboard boxes and low quality 
        shipping pallets.
            (3) The cost of disposing of municipal solid waste has been 
        increasing at a 7 percent annual rate.
            (4) There are regional shortages of solid waste disposal 
        capacity, and siting new facilities is contentious for local 
        governments. These conditions will be exacerbated by the growth 
        of solid waste discards.
            (5) There are already spirited interstate disputes, 
        expressed in litigation and legislation, regarding efforts to 
        regulate interstate shipment of solid waste.
            (6) Dozens of other nations are pursuing regulatory 
        approaches and surtaxes to reduce the amount of solid waste 
        from packaging.
            (7) The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 establishes a 
        hierarchy for handling waste, with source reduction and reuse 
        being preferable to recycling.
            (8) It is in the national environmental and economic 
        interest to reaffirm and emphasize the Pollution Prevention Act 
        of 1990's priority on source reduction and reuse, without 
        resorting to new Federal regulatory requirements or new Federal 
        taxes.
            (9) Emerging industry has the means to dramatically reduce 
        the amount of packaging waste, thereby conserving solid waste 
        disposal capacity, improving the environment, and reducing 
        unnecessary costs to consumers, local governments, and business 
        alike.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to provide tax incentives to encourage 
the utilization of reusable wooden and plastic pallets and plastic 
containers in order to fulfill the goals of the Pollution Prevention 
Act of 1990, improve national environmental quality through reduced 
solid waste, increase economic productivity by reducing the costs 
associated with waste disposal, reduce inflationary pressures 
associated with the escalating cost of waste disposal, reduce friction 
among the States concerning interstate solid waste transportation, and 
provide a cost-efficient nonregulatory model for addressing 
environmental problems.

SEC. 4. INCREASE IN AGGREGATE COST OF REUSABLE PALLETS AND CONTAINERS 
              AND CERTAIN RELATED PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE EXPENSED.

    (a) In General.--Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to election to expense certain depreciable business assets) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Increased Expensing for Reusable Pallets and Containers and 
Certain Related Property.--
            ``(1) In general.--The limitation under subsection (b)(1) 
        (after the application of paragraph (2) and before the 
        application of paragraph (3) of such subsection) shall not be 
        less than an amount equal to the lesser of--
                    ``(A) $500,000, or
                    ``(B) the cost of section 179 property which is 
                qualified reusable pallet and container property placed 
                in service during the taxable year.
            ``(2) Qualified reusable pallet and container property.--
        For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified reusable 
                pallet and container property' means--
                            ``(i) property designed exclusively to 
                        manufacture reusable pallet and container 
                        property,
                            ``(ii) reusable pallet and container 
                        property used exclusively to transport items 
                        manufactured or produced by the taxpayer but 
                        only if--
                                    ``(I) such transportation is under 
                                an arrangement for the return of such 
                                property to the taxpayer for reuse, and
                                    ``(II) such property does not 
                                replace other reusable pallet and 
                                container property,
                            ``(iii) property designed exclusively for 
                        purposes of inspecting, repairing, cleaning, or 
                        maintaining reusable pallet and container 
                        property and used exclusively for such purposes 
                        with respect to reusable pallet and container 
                        property owned or leased by the taxpayer,
                            ``(iv) property designed exclusively to 
                        accommodate the use, or enhance the efficiency, 
                        of any reusable pallet and container property 
                        associated with harvesting, packing, handling, 
                        or storage of agricultural products, and
                            ``(v) property which modifies a display for 
                        the retail sale of an item exclusively for 
                        purposes of permitting such item to be 
                        displayed in the reusable pallet and container 
                        property in which such item was transported.
                    ``(B) Subsection not to apply to certain 
                vehicles.--The term `qualified reusable pallet and 
                container property' shall not include automobiles, 
                vessels, aircraft, trucks, forklifts, pallet jacks, or 
                rolling stock or other similar property.
            ``(3) Reusable pallet and container property.--For purposes 
        of this subsection, the term `reusable pallet and container 
        property' means any wooden or plastic pallet or plastic crate 
        which is under an arrangement for the repeated return of such 
        property to its initial purchaser, for long-term reuse.
            ``(4) Termination.--This subsection shall not apply to any 
        taxable year beginning after December 31, 2008.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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