Corporate Assets Should be used to Hire Act

Corporate Assets Should be used to Hire Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on domestic corporations in taxable years beginning in 2011 or 2012 an additional 40% tax on the excess of their retained earnings over their average retained earnings for the preceding 3 taxable years.  Exempts certain corporations from such tax, including corporations with retained earnings of less than $5 million in a taxable year.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3018 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3018

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a temporary 
   surtax on increases in retained earnings of domestic corporations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2011

 Mr. Capuano 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 a temporary 
   surtax on increases in retained earnings of domestic corporations.

    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 ``Corporate Assets Should be used to 
Hire Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY SURTAX ON INCREASES IN RETAINED EARNINGS OF DOMESTIC 
              CORPORATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Part II of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating section 12 as 
section 13 and by inserting after section 11 the following new section:

``SEC. 12. TEMPORARY SURTAX ON INCREASES IN RETAINED EARNINGS OF 
              DOMESTIC CORPORATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--In the case of a domestic corporation for any 
taxable year beginning during 2011 or 2012, there is hereby imposed (in 
addition to any other tax imposed by this part) a tax equal to 40 
percent of the excess (if any) of--
            ``(1) the retained earnings of such corporation for such 
        taxable year, over
            ``(2) the average retained earnings of such corporation for 
        the 3 taxable years immediately preceding such taxable year.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--
            ``(1) Retained earnings required by law.--Subsection (a) 
        shall not apply to so much of the excess described in such 
        subsection as is attributable to any increase in retained 
        earnings which is required by Federal law or regulation.
            ``(2) Small business exception.--Subsection (a) shall not 
        apply to any corporation for any taxable year with respect to 
        which the retained earnings of such corporation for such 
        taxable year is less than $5,000,000. For purposes of this 
        paragraph, 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 person.
            ``(3) Corporations not in existence for entire base 
        period.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any corporation if 
        such corporation was not in existence for the entire 3 taxable 
        year period referred to in subsection (a)(2).
    ``(c) Retained Earnings.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`retained earnings' means, with respect to any taxable year, the excess 
(if any) of--
            ``(1) the retained earnings of such corporation as of the 
        end of such taxable year, over
            ``(2) the retained earnings of such corporation as of the 
        beginning of such taxable year.
Appropriated and unappropriated retained earnings shall be taken into 
account under paragraphs (1) and (2).
    ``(d) Treatment of Predecessors.--Any reference in this section to 
a corporation shall include a reference to any predecessor of such 
corporation.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part II of 
subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by redesignating the 
item relating to section 12 as an item relating to section 13 and by 
inserting after the item relating to section 11 the following new item:

``Sec. 12. Temporary surtax on increases in retained earnings of 
                            domestic corporations.''.
    (c) Deficit Reduction.--The increase in Federal revenue resulting 
from the amendments made by this section shall be deposited in the 
Treasury and used for Federal budget deficit reduction or, if there is 
no Federal budget deficit, for reducing the Federal debt in such manner 
as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.
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