[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5478 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5478
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an incentive to
encourage the replacement of inefficient, outdated freight railcars
with greener, more fuel efficient vehicles.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 8, 2010
Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Tanner, Mr.
Shuster, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. McMahon, Mr. Wu, Mrs. Dahlkemper, Mr. Petri,
Mr. Carney, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Filner, Mr.
Smith of Texas, Mr. Paul, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Costello, Mr. Gerlach, Mr.
Grijalva, Ms. Granger, Mr. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Moran of
Kansas, Mr. Latham, Mr. Berry, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. McDermott, Mr.
Lipinski, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Loebsack, Mr.
Holden, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Inglis, Mr. Ross, Mr. Mica, Mr. Carter, Mr.
Spratt, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. Graves, Mr. Brady of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Olson, Mr. Carnahan,
Mr. Quigley, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Snyder, and
Mr. Rahall) 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 an incentive to
encourage the replacement of inefficient, outdated freight railcars
with greener, more fuel efficient vehicles.
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 ``Green Railcar Enhancement Act of
2010''.
SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR FREIGHT RAILCAR REPLACEMENT OR MODERNIZATION.
(a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 45R. FREIGHT RAILCAR REPLACEMENT OR MODERNIZATION CREDIT.
``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of section 38, the freight
railcar replacement or modernization credit determined under this
section for the taxable year is an amount equal to 25 percent of the
sum of--
``(1) the basis of any qualified freight railcar placed in
service by the taxpayer during the taxable year, plus
``(2) the qualified freight railcar rebuild expenditures of
the taxpayer for the taxable year.
``(b) Qualified Freight Railcar.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term
`qualified freight railcar' means a freight railcar which--
``(A) is acquired or rebuilt by the taxpayer
pursuant to a binding agreement entered into after the
date of the enactment of this section, and
``(B) meets the capacity or fuel efficiency
improvement requirements of paragraph (2).
``(2) Capacity or fuel efficiency requirements.--
``(A) In general.--A freight railcar shall be
treated as meeting the capacity or fuel efficiency
requirements of this paragraph if--
``(i) in the case of a freight railcar
which is acquired by the taxpayer during the
taxable year (`replacement railcar'), the
taxpayer identifies another railcar (although
not necessarily one being used for an identical
purpose) which the taxpayer certifies--
``(I) was removed permanently from
service as a freight railcar during the
taxable year, or
``(II) is being rebuilt in such a
manner as to achieve a significant
improvement in capacity or fuel
efficiency, or
``(ii) in the case of a freight railcar
rebuilt by the taxpayer, such rebuilding
results in a significant improvement in
capacity or fuel efficiency.
``(B) Ownership not required.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A)(i), such other railcar may be one
owned by the taxpayer or one owned by another taxpayer,
so long as there exists a binding agreement to so
remove or rebuild the railcar.
``(C) Significant improvement.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), an improvement in capacity or fuel
efficiency with respect to a freight railcar shall be
treated as significant if such capacity or fuel
efficiency, as the case may be, is increased by at
least 8 percent.
``(c) Qualified Freight Railcar Rebuild Expenditure.--For purposes
of this section, the term `qualified freight railcar rebuild
expenditure' means any amount paid or incurred--
``(1) in connection with the modification of a freight
railcar resulting in such railcar being a qualified freight
railcar, and
``(2) which is properly chargeable to a capital account
with respect to such freight railcar.
``(d) Other Special Rules.--
``(1) Coordination with other credits.--Any amount taken
into account in determining the credit under this section may
not be taken into account in determining a credit under any
other provision of this title.
``(2) Basis adjustment.--For purposes of this subtitle, if
a credit is allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any
qualified freight railcar, the basis of such railcar shall be
reduced by the amount of the credit so allowed.
``(3) Sale-leaseback.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1),
if any qualified freight railcar is--
``(A) originally placed in service by a person
after [the date of the enactment of this section], and
``(B) sold and leased back by such person within 3
months after the railcars are originally placed in
service (or, in the case of more than 1 railcar subject
to the same lease, within 3 months after the date the
final railcar is placed in service, so long as the
period between the time the first railcar is placed in
service and the time the last railcar is placed in
service does not exceed 12 months),
such railcars shall be treated as originally placed in service
not earlier than the date on which such railcars are used under
the leaseback referred to in subparagraph (B).
``(4) Syndication.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1), if--
``(A) any qualified freight railcar is originally
placed in service after the date of enactment of this
section by the lessor of such railcar,
``(B) such railcar is sold by such lessor or any
subsequent purchaser within 3 months after the date
such railcar was originally placed in service (or, in
the case of more than 1 railcar subject to the same
lease, within 3 months after the date the final railcar
is placed in service and the time the last railcar is
placed in service does not exceed 12 months), and
``(C) the user of such railcar after the last sale
during such 3-month period remains the same as when
such railcar was originally placed in service,
such railcars shall be treated as originally placed in service
not earlier than the date of such last sale.
``(5) Recapture.--The benefit of any credit allowable under
subsection (a) shall, under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary, be recaptured with respect to any qualified freight
railcar that is sold or otherwise disposed of by the taxpayer
during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which such
railcar is originally placed in service. The preceding sentence
shall not apply to a qualified freight railcar that is sold by
and subsequently leased back to the taxpayer.
``(6) Reporting requirements.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Surface Transportation Board, may develop
appropriate reporting requirements for taxpayers utilizing this
credit.
``(e) Termination.--This section shall not apply to any freight
railcars acquired, or with respect to which at least 50 percent of the
rebuilding is completed, after December 31, 2011.''.
(b) Credit Allowed as Business Credit.--Section 38(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to current year business
credit) is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (34),
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (35) and inserting ``,
plus'' and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(36) the freight railcar replacement or modernization
credit determined under section 45R.''.
(c) Coordination With Section 55.--Section 38(c)(4)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 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) the credit determined under section
45R.''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 45Q the
following new item:
``Sec. 45R. Freight railcar replacement or modernization credit.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to property placed in service, and amounts paid or incurred,
after December 31, 2009.
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