[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6818 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6818

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide employers a 
    credit against employment and income taxes for certain employee 
                           training expenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2023

 Mrs. Hinson 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 employers a 
    credit against employment and income taxes for certain employee 
                           training expenses.

    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 ``Bettering Employee Skills and 
Talents Act'' or the ``BEST Act''.

SEC. 2. WORKFORCE TRAINING CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter D of chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 3135. WORKFORCE TRAINING CREDIT.

    ``(a) In General.--There shall be allowed as a credit against 
applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal 
to 30 percent of the qualified workforce training expenses paid or 
incurred by the employer during such calendar quarter.
    ``(b) Qualified Workforce Training Expenses.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified workforce training 
        expenses' means amounts paid or incurred by the employer to 
        provide a qualified employee with qualified training.
            ``(2) Qualified employee.--The term `qualified employee' 
        means any employee who holds an entry-level position with the 
        employer and has not obtained a bachelor's degree.
            ``(3) Qualified training.--The term `qualified training' 
        means any program of training which is designed to prepare an 
        individual for a skill or employment classification that is 
        recognized by any State or local government, regulatory body, 
        or professional guild or organization. Such term shall not 
        include any program of workplace safety training unless the 
        skill or employment classification relates to workplace safety.
    ``(c) Applicable Employment Taxes.--For purposes of this section, 
the term `applicable employment taxes' means the taxes imposed under 
sections 3111(a), 3111(b), and 3221(a).
    ``(d) Carryover of Excess Credit as Employment or Income Tax 
Credit.--
            ``(1) Credit limited to employment taxes.--The credit 
        allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any calendar 
        quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes 
        (reduced by any credits allowed under subsection (e) or (f) of 
        section 3111) on the wages paid with respect to the employment 
        of all the employees of the employer for such calendar quarter.
            ``(2) Carryover as employment or income tax credit.--If the 
        amount of any credit under subsection (a) exceeds the 
        limitation of paragraph (1) for any calendar quarter, such 
        excess--
                    ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), shall 
                be carried to the succeeding calendar quarter and 
                allowed as a credit under subsection (a) for such 
                quarter, or
                    ``(B) if the employer elects the application of 
                this subparagraph (at such time and in such manner as 
                the Secretary may provide), shall taken into account as 
                a current year business credit under section 38(b)(42) 
                for the taxable year of the employer in which or with 
                which such calendar quarter ends.
    ``(e) Recapture.--
            ``(1) In general.--If credit is determined under this 
        section with respect to any employee and such employee fails to 
        succeed at training, the applicable employment taxes of the 
        employer with respect to which such credit is determined shall 
        be increased for the calendar quarter which includes the date 
        of such failure by the aggregate amount of such credits.
            ``(2) Determination of failure.--An employee shall be 
        treated as failing to succeed at training if such employee 
        fails to complete the training program or fails to obtain the 
        skill, employment classification, or certification with respect 
        to which the training program relates.
    ``(f) Special Rules.--
            ``(1) Aggregation rule.--For purposes of subsection (b), 
        all persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) 
        or (b) of section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, 
        shall be treated as one employer.
            ``(2) Denial of double benefit.--No deduction or credit 
        (other than the credit determined under this section) shall be 
        allowed for that portion of the qualified workforce training 
        expenses paid or incurred in a taxable year which is equal to 
        the credit determined under this section with respect to such 
        expenses.
            ``(3) Exclusion of governmental and non-profit employers.--
        No credit shall be allowed under this section to--
                    ``(A) any agency or instrumentality of and Federal, 
                State, or local government, or
                    ``(B) any organization exempt from the tax imposed 
                under chapter 1.
            ``(4) Election to not claim credit.--No credit shall be 
        determined under subsection (a) with respect to so much of the 
        qualified workforce training expenses as the employer elects 
        (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may provide) 
        to not take into account for purposes of this section.
            ``(5) Treatment of deposits.--The Secretary shall waive any 
        penalty under section 6656 for any failure to make a deposit of 
        any applicable employment taxes if the Secretary determines 
        that such failure was due to the reasonable anticipation of the 
        credit allowed under this section.
            ``(6) Extension of limitation on assessment.--
        Notwithstanding section 6501, the limitation on the time period 
        for the assessment of any amount attributable to a credit 
        claimed under this section shall not expire before the date 
        that is 5 years after the later of--
                    ``(A) the date on which the original return which 
                includes the calendar quarter with respect to which 
                such credit is determined is filed, or
                    ``(B) the date on which such return is treated as 
                filed under section 6501(b)(2).
    ``(g) Regulations and Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue such 
forms, instructions, regulations, and other guidance as are necessary--
            ``(1) with respect to the application of the credit under 
        this section to third party payors (including professional 
        employer organizations, certified professional employer 
        organizations, or agents under section 3504), including 
        regulations or guidance allowing such payors to submit 
        documentation necessary to substantiate such credit,
            ``(2) to provide for adequate reporting of information to 
        the Secretary for purposes of this section, and
            ``(3) with respect to the recapture under subsection (f) of 
        the credit determined by this section, including the 
        establishment of periods after which a failure described in 
        subsection (f)(2) will be treated as occurring if the 
        requirements described in such subsection are not satisfied as 
        of the close of such period.
Any forms, instructions, regulations, or other guidance described in 
paragraph (1) shall require the customer to be responsible for the 
accounting of the credit and for any liability for improperly claimed 
credits and shall require the certified professional employer 
organization or other third party payor to accurately report such tax 
credits based on the information provided by the customer.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (40), by striking the period 
        at the end of paragraph (41) and inserting ``, plus'', and by 
        adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(42) in the case of a taxpayer making the election under 
        3135(e)(2)(B) for any calendar quarter ending during or with 
        such taxable year, the amount treated as a credit under this 
        paragraph pursuant to such election.''.
            (2) Section 3511(d)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (H), by redesignating 
        subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (J), and by inserting after 
        subparagraph (H) the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(I) section 3135 (workforce training credit), 
                and''.
            (3) The table of sections for subchapter D of chapter 21 of 
        such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        item:

``Sec. 3135. Workforce training credit.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to calendar quarters beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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