To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain tax benefits related to empowerment zones to the District of Columbia.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends Internal Revenue Code section 1391 so that the portion of the District of Columbia that would create the largest area meeting empowerment-zone eligibility requirements is treated as a designated empowerment zone. The deemed designation does not count against the number of empowerment zones that may otherwise be designated under the Code. The amendment applies to periods beginning after December 31, 2025. The practical effect is to extend empowerment-zone tax benefits to qualifying District businesses, investors, and workers in the eligible area, while requiring IRS administration and reducing federal tax receipts to the extent taxpayers claim the benefits.
Who Benefits and How
District of Columbia businesses benefit from access to empowerment-zone tax incentives in the qualifying area. District investors benefit if eligible investments receive zone-related tax treatment. District workers benefit if employers use the incentives to support hiring or business activity in the zone. The District government benefits from a federal tax tool for local economic development without using one of the ordinary empowerment-zone slots.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Internal Revenue Service must administer the deemed empowerment-zone treatment after 2025. Businesses and investors must comply with the eligibility rules to claim benefits. Federal taxpayers bear the revenue cost of zone-related tax benefits. Treasury tax administrators must distinguish the District deemed zone from the ordinary national cap on empowerment-zone designations.
Key Provisions
- Amends Internal Revenue Code section 1391 to treat part of the District of Columbia as an empowerment zone.
- Provides the largest qualifying District area that meets empowerment-zone eligibility requirements.
- Excludes the District deemed zone from the ordinary cap on empowerment-zone designations.
- Applies the tax treatment to periods beginning after December 31, 2025.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Treats the largest qualifying area of the District of Columbia as an empowerment zone for federal tax benefits after 2025 without counting it against the national empowerment-zone cap.
Key Policy Areas
Tax, Economic Development, District of Columbia
Primary Purpose
Treats the largest qualifying area of the District of Columbia as an empowerment zone for federal tax benefits after 2025 without counting it against the national empowerment-zone cap.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- District of Columbia businesses
- District investors
- District workers
- District government economic-development staff
Identified Costs
- Internal Revenue Service
- Treasury tax administrators
- Federal taxpayers
- Businesses claiming zone benefits
- Investors claiming zone benefits
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1161)
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "places"
- → ['District of Columbia']
- "agencies"
- → ['Internal Revenue Service', 'Department of the Treasury']
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology