[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 297 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 297

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 15-year straight-
  line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space and for 
qualified new restaurant improvements and to expand the eligibility for 
       the work opportunity tax credit to all disabled veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 16, 2007

  Mr. Salazar introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 15-year straight-
  line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space and for 
qualified new restaurant improvements and to expand the eligibility for 
       the work opportunity tax credit to all disabled veterans.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF CODE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Business Relief 
and Incentives for Small Entrepreneurs Act of 2007'' or the ``Business 
RAISE Act''.
    (b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly 
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in 
terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 
the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other 
provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

SEC. 2. 15-YEAR STRAIGHT-LINE COST RECOVERY FOR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO 
              RETAIL SPACE AND FOR QUALIFIED NEW RESTAURANT 
              IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) Recovery Period for Depreciation of Certain Improvements to 
Retail Space.--
            (1) 15-year recovery period.--Section 168(e)(3)(E) 
        (relating to 15-year property) is amended by striking ``and'' 
        at the end of clause (vii), by striking the period at the end 
        of clause (viii) and inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the 
        end the following new clause:
                            ``(ix) any qualified retail improvement 
                        property placed in service before January 1, 
                        2008.''.
            (2) Qualified retail improvement property.--Section 168(e) 
        is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) Qualified retail improvement property.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified retail 
                improvement property' means any improvement to an 
                interior portion of a building which is nonresidential 
                real property if--
                            ``(i) such portion is open to the general 
                        public and is used in the trade or business of 
                        selling tangible personal property or services 
                        to the general public; and
                            ``(ii) such improvement is placed in 
                        service more than 3 years after the date the 
                        building was first placed in service.
                    ``(B) Certain improvements not included.--Such term 
                shall not include any improvement for which the 
                expenditure is attributable to--
                            ``(i) the enlargement of the building,
                            ``(ii) any elevator or escalator, or
                            ``(iii) the internal structural framework 
                        of the building.''.
            (3) Requirement to use straight line method.--Section 
        168(b)(3) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(I) Qualified retail improvement property 
                described in subsection (e)(8).''.
            (4) Alternative system.--The table contained in section 
        168(g)(3)(B) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
        subparagraph (E)(viii) the following new item:


 
 
 
``(E)(ix)..................................................        39''.
 

            (5) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section 
        shall apply to qualified retail improvement property placed in 
        service after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Modification of Treatment of Qualified Restaurant Property as 
15-Year Property for Purposes of Depreciation Deduction.--
            (1) Treatment to include new construction.--Paragraph (7) 
        of section 168(e) (relating to classification of property) is 
        amended to read as follows:
            ``(7) Qualified restaurant property.--The term `qualified 
        restaurant property' means any section 1250 property which is a 
        building or an improvement to a building if more than 50 
        percent of the building's square footage is devoted to 
        preparation of, and seating for on-premises consumption of, 
        prepared meals.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection 
        shall apply to any property placed in service after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT.

    (a) Expansion of Eligibility to All Disabled Veterans.--Section 
51(d)(3)(A) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``who is certified'' and inserting the 
        following: ``who--
                            ``(i) is certified''; and
            (2) by striking the period at the end and inserting the 
        following: ``; or
                            ``(ii) has a disability rating under 
                        section 1155 of title 38, United States Code, 
                        of not less than 10 percent.''.
    (b) Publication and Administration of Expanded Tax Credit.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor shall--
                    (A) publicize the expansion of the work opportunity 
                tax credit under subsection (a); and
                    (B) provide technical assistance to employers 
                desiring to take advantage of the tax credit.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor $2,500,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out paragraph 
        (1).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to individuals who begin work for employers after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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