[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5429 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 5429

 To provide an exemption from local taxation for direct-to-subscriber 
          satellite service providers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2002

  Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide an exemption from local taxation for direct-to-subscriber 
          satellite service providers, 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 ``Satellite Services Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. PREEMPTION OF LOCAL TAXATION WITH RESPECT TO DIRECT-TO-
              SUBSCRIBER SATELLITE SERVICES.

    (a) Exemption From Local Taxation.--A provider of direct-to-
subscriber satellite service shall be exempt from the collection or 
remittance, or both, of any tax or fee imposed by any local taxing 
jurisdiction on direct-to-subscriber satellite service.
    (b) Preservation of State Authority.--This section shall not--
            (1) apply with respect to a tax or fee imposed by a State, 
        or
            (2) prevent a local taxing jurisdiction from receiving 
        revenue derived from a tax or fee imposed and collected by a 
        State.

SEC. 3. STATE TAXATION OF DIRECT-TO-SUBSCRIBER SATELLITE SERVICE.

    Notwithstanding the authority of a State to impose taxes and fees, 
such State may not impose a tax or fee with respect to direct-to-
subscriber satellite service if--
            (1) the place of primary use of such service is not 
        physically located within the physical boundaries of the State, 
        or
            (2) the law of such State does not authorize the imposition 
        of such tax or fee.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) Direct-to-subscriber satellite service.--The term 
        ``direct-to-subscriber satellite service'' means the 
        distribution or broadcasting of programming transmitted or 
        broadcast by satellite directly to the satellite service 
        subscriber's receiving equipment without the use of the 
        provider's ground receiving or distribution equipment, except 
        equipment at the subscriber's premises or in the uplink process 
        to the satellite. A service that otherwise qualifies as a 
        direct-to-subscriber satellite service as defined in this 
        paragraph, but that uses terrestrial repeater transmitters to 
        retransmit signals received from the provider's operating 
        satellites, shall nonetheless be treated as a direct-to-
        subscriber satellite service.
            (2) Local taxing jurisdiction.--The term ``local taxing 
        jurisdiction'' means any municipality, city, county, township, 
        parish, transportation district, or assessment jurisdiction, or 
        any other local jurisdiction in the territorial jurisdiction of 
        the United States with the authority to impose a tax or fee, 
        but does not include a State.
            (3) Place of primary use.--The term ``place of primary 
        use'' means the residential street address or the primary 
        business street address representative of where a subscriber's 
        use of direct-to-subscriber satellite service primarily occurs.
            (4) Provider of direct-to-subscriber satellite service.--
        For purposes of this section, a ``provider of direct-to-
        subscriber satellite service'' means a person who transmits, 
        broadcasts, sells, or distributes direct-to-subscriber 
        satellite service.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, or any territory or 
        possession of the United States.
            (6) Tax or fee.--The terms ``tax'' and ``fee'' mean any 
        local sales tax, local use tax, local intangible tax, local 
        income tax, business license tax, utility tax, privilege tax, 
        gross receipts tax, excise tax, franchise fees, 
        telecommunications tax, communications tax, or any other tax, 
        license, or fee that is imposed for the privilege of doing 
        business, regulating, or raising revenue for a local taxing 
        jurisdiction.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.

    This Act shall take effect 120 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and shall not apply with respect to taxes and fees payable 
for direct-to-subscriber satellite service provided before such date.
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