[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4950-S4951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2576. Mr. CRAMER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2499 proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to
condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and
harassment of these communities inside and outside China; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end, add the following:
SEC. __. TAX CREDIT FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) In General.--In the case of an eligible employer, there
shall be allowed as a credit against applicable employment
taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal to 50 percent
of the qualified expenses paid or incurred by such employer
during such calendar quarter.
(b) Limitations and Refundability.--
(1) Limitation.--The qualified fixed expenses which may be
taken into account under subsection (a) by any eligible
employer for any calendar quarter shall not exceed--
(A) in the case of any calendar quarter beginning in 2020,
$500,000, and
(B) in the case of any calendar quarter beginning after
2020, $250,000.
(2) Credit limited to certain employment taxes.--The credit
allowed by subsection (a) with respect to any calendar
quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes for
such calendar quarter (reduced by any credits allowed under
subsections (e) and (f) of section 3111 of such Code,
sections 7001 and 7003 of the Families First Coronavirus
Response Act, and section 2301 of the CARES Act, for such
quarter) on the wages paid with respect to the employment of
all the employees of the eligible employer for such calendar
quarter.
(3) Refundability of excess credit.--
(A) In general.--If the amount of the credit under
subsection (a) exceeds the limitation of paragraph (2) for
any calendar quarter, such excess shall be treated as an
overpayment that shall be refunded under sections 6402(a) and
6413(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(B) Treatment of payments.--For purposes of section 1324 of
title 31, United States Code, any amounts due to an employer
under this paragraph shall be treated in the same manner as a
refund due from a credit provision referred to in subsection
(b)(2) of such section.
(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) Applicable employment taxes.--The term ``applicable
employment taxes'' means the following:
(A) The taxes imposed under section 3111(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
(B) So much of the taxes imposed under section 3221(a) of
such Code as are attributable to the rate in effect under
section 3111(a) of such Code.
(2) Eligible employer.--
(A) In general.--The term ``eligible employer'' means any
employer--
(i) which was carrying on a trade or business at any time
during calendar quarter, and
(ii) which has not more than 2,000 full-time equivalent
employees (within the meaning of section 45R(d)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the taxable year.
(B) Tax-exempt organizations.--In the case of an
organization which is described in section 501(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under
section 501(a) of such Code, subparagraph (A)(i) shall apply
to all operations of such organization.
(3) Qualified expenses.--For purposes of this section--
(A) In general.--The term ``qualified expenses'' means any
amount paid or incurred after February 1, 2020, for--
(i) qualified equipment and services for the purposes of
preventing infection related to SARS-CoV-2, or
(ii) the reconfiguration of facilities for such purposes,
or
(iii) qualified education and training of employees for new
business procedures related to preventing COVID-19
transmission.
(B) Qualified equipment and services.--The term ``qualified
equipment and services'' means--
(i) any product or material which--
(I) serves as personal protective equipment or as a barrier
erected to prevent virus spread between customers and
employees, including plexiglass installed at cashiers and
other counters, and partitions to separate customers,
(II) is a disinfectant product registered by the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for
which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency has approved an emerging viral pathogen claim that
applies with respect to use against SARS-CoV-2,
(III) is a thermometer, or
(IV) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for
testing for COVID-19 (including diagnosic testing and
serology testing to detect antibodies) by the eligible
employer, in conjunction with a certified diagnostics
laboratory or health care provider,
(ii) any--
(I) contactless point-of-sale system,
(II) new software and technology to assist in maintaining
social distancing,
(III) application for reporting employee symptom or
providing wellness checks, and
(IV) property used to enable curbside pickup or delivery
services,
(iii) hand sanitizer,
(iv) any sign related to public health awareness, social
distancing, or altered services such as curbside pickups, and
[[Page S4951]]
(v) services for--
(I) cleaning and disinfecting, or
(II) testing for COVID-19 by a certified diagnostics
laboratory, and
(vi) such other equipment or technology as determined by
the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, and
the Secretary of Agriculture, determines is necessary and
appropriate for preventing COVID-19 and is recommended as
part of the Federal government's recommendations for safe
workplaces.
Such term shall not include any equipment which is not for
use in the United States or any service which is not
conducted in the United States.
(C) Qualified education and training.--The term ``qualified
education and training'' means education or training provided
by an accredited training institution, an industry-recognized
trade association, or another nonprofit entity.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.
(d) Aggregation Rule.--All persons treated as a single
employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or subsection (m) or (o) of
section 414 of such Code, shall be treated as one employer
for purposes of this section.
(e) Denial of Double Benefit.--For purposes of chapter 1 of
such Code, the gross income of any eligible employer, for the
taxable year which includes the last day of any calendar
quarter with respect to which a credit is allowed under this
section, shall be increased by the amount of such credit.
(f) Election Not To Have Section Apply.--This section shall
not apply with respect to any eligible employer for any
calendar quarter if such employer elects (at such time and in
such manner as the Secretary may prescribe) not to have this
section apply.
(g) Transfers to Certain Trust Funds.--There are hereby
appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund
established under section 201 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 401) and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit
Account established under section 15A(a) of the Railroad
Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231n-1(a)) amounts equal to
the reduction in revenues to the Treasury by reason of this
section (without regard to this subsection). Amounts
appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be transferred
from the general fund at such times and in such manner as to
replicate to the extent possible the transfers which would
have occurred to such Trust Fund or Account had this section
not been enacted.
(h) Treatment of Deposits.--The Secretary shall waive any
penalty under section 6656 of such Code for any failure to
make a deposit of applicable employment taxes if the
Secretary determines that such failure was due to the
anticipation of the credit allowed under this section.
(i) Regulations and Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue
such forms, instructions, regulations, and guidance as are
necessary--
(1) to allow the advance payment of the credit under
subsection (a), subject to the limitations provided in this
section, based on such information as the Secretary shall
require,
(2) to provide for the reconciliation of such advance
payment with the amount of the credit at the time of filing
the return of tax for the applicable quarter or taxable year,
(3) with respect to the application of the credit under
subsection (a) to third-party payors (including professional
employer organizations, certified professional employer
organizations, or agents under section 3504 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986), including regulations or guidance
allowing such payors to submit documentation necessary to
substantiate the eligible employer status of employers that
use such payors,
(4) for recapturing the benefit of credits determined under
this section in cases where there is a subsequent adjustment
to the credit determined under subsection (a), and
(5) for providing the benefit of the credit under
subsection (a) to taxpayers who have already filed returns
for calendar quarters ending before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(j) Application of Section.--This section shall apply only
to qualified fixed expenses paid or accrued in calendar
quarters ending on or after February 1, 2020, and beginning
before January 1, 2022.
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