[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2581 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2581
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide relief for
taxpayers affected by disasters or other critical events.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2021
Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Bennet) 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 relief for
taxpayers affected by disasters or other critical events.
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 ``Automatic Relief for Taxpayers
Affected by Major Disasters and Critical Events Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF AUTOMATIC EXTENSION OF CERTAIN DEADLINES IN THE
CASE OF TAXPAYERS AFFECTED BY FEDERALLY DECLARED
DISASTERS.
(a) In General.--Section 7508A(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``the latest incident date so
specified'' in subparagraph (B) and inserting ``the
later of such earliest incident date described in
subparagraph (A) or the date such declaration was
issued'', and
(B) by striking ``in the same manner as a period
specified under subsection (a)'' and inserting ``in
determining, under the internal revenue laws, in
respect of any tax liability of such qualified
taxpayer, whether any of the acts described in
subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 7508(a)(1)
were performed within the time prescribed therefor
(determined without regard to extension under any other
provision of this subtitle for periods after the date
determined under subparagraph (B))'',
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Disaster area.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term `disaster area' means an area in which a major disaster
for which the President provides financial assistance under
section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) occurs.'', and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Multiple declarations.--For purposes of paragraph
(1), in the case of multiple declarations relating to a
disaster area which are issued within a 60-day period, a
separate period shall be determined under such paragraph with
respect to each such declaration.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to federally declared disasters declared after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS OF RULES FOR POSTPONING CERTAIN ACTS BY REASON OF
SERVICE IN COMBAT ZONE OR CONTINGENCY OPERATION.
(a) In General.--Section 7508(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the
following:
``(C) Filing a petition with the Tax Court, or
filing a notice of appeal from a decision of the Tax
Court;'', and
(2) by inserting ``or in respect of any erroneous refund''
after ``any tax'' in subparagraph (J).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to any period for performing an act which has not expired before
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. TOLLING OF TIME FOR FILING A PETITION WITH THE TAX COURT.
(a) In General.--Section 7451 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Tax Court'' and inserting the
following:
``(a) Fees.--The Tax Court'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Tolling of Time in Certain Cases.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this title, in any case (including by reason of a lapse in
appropriations) in which a filing location is inaccessible or
otherwise unavailable to the general public on the date a
petition is due, the relevant time period for filing such
petition shall be tolled for the number of days within the
period of inaccessibility plus an additional 14 days.
``(2) Filing location.--For purposes of this subsection,
the term `filing location' means--
``(A) the office of the clerk of the Tax Court, or
``(B) any on-line portal made available by the Tax
Court for electronic filing of petitions.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The heading for section 7451 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``fee for filing petition''
and inserting ``petitions''.
(2) The item in the table of contents for part II of
subchapter C of chapter 76 of such Code is amended by striking
``Fee for filing petition'' and inserting ``Petitions''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to petitions required to be timely filed (determined without
regard to the amendments made by this section) after the date of
enactment of this Act.
<all>