[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5310 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5310

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives 
    for investing in companies involved in space-related activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2008

Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself and Mr. Weldon of Florida) 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 tax incentives 
    for investing in companies involved in space-related activities.

    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 ``Zero Gravity, Zero Tax Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF SPACE-RELATED INCOME FROM GROSS INCOME.

    (a) In General.--Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items specifically excluded 
from gross income) is amended by inserting after section 139B the 
following new section:

``SEC. 139C. SPACE-RELATED INCOME.

    ``(a) General Rule.--Gross income shall not include space-related 
income.
    ``(b) Space-Related Income.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `space-related income' means--
                    ``(A) income derived from the sale by the taxpayer 
                to an unrelated person of--
                            ``(i) any product or article which is 
                        produced by the taxpayer in outer space, and
                            ``(ii) any service provided by the taxpayer 
                        in or from outer space,
                    ``(B) income of an individual attributable to 
                services performed in or from outer space by such 
                individual in a trade or business, and
                    ``(C) any amount not described in subparagraph (A) 
                or (B) which is interest, rent, royalty, or similar 
                amount received with respect to production or service 
                described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
            ``(2) Exception for telecommunications services, etc.--
        Paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) any telecommunications service provided from 
                earth orbit,
                    ``(B) any service provided by a weather or other 
                earth observation satellite, and
                    ``(C) any other service provided on or before the 
                date of the enactment of this section of transporting 
                property to or from outer space.
            ``(3) Exception for wages.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply 
        to wages (as defined in section 3401) received by any employee 
        of an employer.
            ``(4) Proportional allocation between space-based and 
        earth-based activities.--In the case of any product or article 
        which is produced partly in space, space-related income shall 
        be an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of gross 
        income attributable to the sale of such product or article as 
        the expenses attributable to producing such product or article 
        in space bears to the total expenses incurred in producing such 
        product or article.
            ``(5) Produced.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `produced' includes created, fabricated, developed, grown, 
        manufactured, extracted, processed, cured, and aged.
    ``(c) Exclusion From Tariffs, etc.--Any product--
            ``(1) which is manufactured in outer space, and
            ``(2) which was--
                    ``(A) launched from, and returned to Earth, within 
                the United States, or
                    ``(B) Manufactured at a facility in outer space 
                which is owned by 1 or more United States persons, 
                shall be exempt from all Federal excises, imposts, and 
                duties and any other Federal tariffs.
    ``(d) Phaseout of Benefits.--In the case of a taxable year 
beginning after December 31, 2017, the amount excluded under subsection 
(a) shall be reduced (but not below zero) by x/10th's of the amount 
excludable without regard to this subsection, where `x' is the number 
of years such taxable year is after the last taxable year beginning 
before January 1, 2018. A similar rule shall apply to the benefits 
under subsection (c).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--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 139B the following new item:

``Sec. 139C. Space-related income.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.

SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR PURCHASE OF QUALIFIED SPACE COMPANY STOCK.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to business related 
credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 45O. SPACE COMPANY INVESTMENT CREDIT.

    ``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, the space company 
investment credit determined under this section for any taxable year is 
the amount paid in the taxable year for the purchase of qualified stock 
in a qualified space company.
    ``(b) Qualified Space Company.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified space company' means 
        a domestic C corporation if for the 3-taxable-year period 
        ending with the taxable year immediately preceding the taxable 
        year in which qualified stock is purchased--
                    ``(A) the average annual gross receipts of such 
                entity does not exceed $100,000,000, and
                    ``(B) more than 70 percent of such gross receipts 
                are derived from space-based business.
            ``(2) Space-based business.--The term `space-based 
        business' means a business whose gross receipts are 
        substantially space-related income, as defined in section 
        139C(b).
            ``(3) Aggregation rules.--Rules similar to the rules of 
        section 1202(d)(3) shall apply.
    ``(c) Qualified Stock.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        section, the term `qualified stock' means any stock in a 
        domestic C corporation if--
                    ``(A) as of the date of issuance of such stock, 
                such corporation is a qualified space company, and
                    ``(B) except as provided in subsections (f) and 
                (h), such stock is acquired by the taxpayer at its 
                original issue (directly or through an underwriter)--
                            ``(i) in exchange for money or other 
                        property (not including stock), or
                            ``(ii) as compensation for services 
                        provided to such corporation (other than 
                        services performed as an underwriter of such 
                        stock).
            ``(2) Active business requirement.--Stock in a corporation 
        shall not be treated as qualified stock unless, during 
        substantially all of the taxpayer's holding period for such 
        stock--
                    ``(A) such corporation meets active business 
                requirements substantially similar to the requirements 
                of section 1202(e), determined on the basis that the 
                qualified trade or business is a space-based business, 
                and
                    ``(B) such corporation is a C corporation.
            ``(3) Certain purchase by corporation of its own stock.--
        Rules similar to the rules of section 1202(c)(3) shall apply.
    ``(d) Recapture.--If, during any taxable year ending with or within 
the 10-year period beginning on the date qualified stock was purchased 
by the taxpayer, the issuer of such stock ceases to a qualified space 
company, the tax under this chapter for such taxable year shall be 
increased by the aggregate decrease in the credits allowed under 
section 38 for all prior taxable years which would have resulted solely 
from reducing to zero any credit determined under subsection (a) with 
respect to such stock.
    ``(e) Termination.--This section shall not apply to stock acquired 
after December 31, 2016.''.
    (b) Credit Allowed as Part of General Business Credit.--Section 
38(b) of such Code (defining current year business credit) is amended 
by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (30), by striking the 
period at the end of paragraph (31 and inserting ``, plus'', and by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(32) space company investment credit determined under 
        section 45O(a).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Subsection (c) of section 196 of such Code is amended 
        by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (12), by striking 
        the period at the end of paragraph (13) and inserting ``, 
        and'', and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(14) the space company investment credit determined under 
        section 45O(a).''.
            (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at 
        the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45O. Space Company Investment Credit.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to costs paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2008.

SEC. 4. CAPITAL GAINS EXCLUSION.

    (a) In General.--Part I of subchapter P of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to treatment of capital gains) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 1203. EXCLUSION FOR GAINS FROM SALE OR EXCHANGE OF STOCK OF 
              QUALIFIED SPACE CORPORATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--Gross income shall not include gain on the sale 
or exchange of any stock of a qualified space corporation.
    ``(b) Qualified Space Corporation.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
the term `qualified space corporation' means, with respect to any 
taxable year, a domestic corporation which is a C corporation if--
            ``(1) such corporation is organized exclusively for 
        providing to unrelated persons--
                    ``(A) any product or article which is produced 
                (within the meaning of section 139C(b)(5)) by the 
                corporation in outer space, or
                    ``(B) any service provided by the corporation in or 
                from outer space, and
            ``(2) At least 90 percent of the expenses of such 
        corporation are attributable to the active conduct of a trade 
        or business of providing a product, article, or service 
        described in paragraph (1).
Such term shall not include a corporation providing a service, product, 
or article described in section 139C(b)(2).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part I of 
subchapter P of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end 
the following new item:

``Sec. 1203. Exclusion for gains from sale or exchange of stock of 
                            qualified space corporations.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.
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