II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 297 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.

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.

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.

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.