H.R. 2008 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2008 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 15, 2013 Mr. Welch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To prohibit United States assistance for Afghanistan unless the United States and Afghanistan enter into a bilateral agreement which provides that work performed in Afghanistan by United States contractors is exempt from taxation by the Government of Afghanistan. 1. Short Title This Act may be cited as the Stop Taxing American Assistance to Afghanistan Act. 2. Prohibition on United States assistance for Afghanistan unless work performed in Afghanistan by United States contractors is exempt from taxation (a) Prohibition No funds made available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or any other Act may be made available to provide assistance for Afghanistan unless the President certifies to Congress that a bilateral agreement between the United States and Afghanistan is in effect which provides that work performed in Afghanistan under a contract in Afghanistan is exempt from taxation by the Government of Afghanistan. The prohibition on assistance under this subsection shall not apply with respect to a contract under which the contractor or subcontractor is not a national of the United States or a contract involving commercial operations of United States diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. (b) Waiver The President may waive the prohibition on assistance under subsection (a) on a case-by-case basis if the President determines and certifies to Congress that it is in the national interests of the United States to do so. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Contract in Afghanistan The term contract in Afghanistan has the meaning given the term contract in Iraq or Afghanistan in section 864(a)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note), except that each reference in such section to or Iraq is deemed to be deleted. (2) Government of Afghanistan (A) In general The term Government of Afghanistan includes the government of any political subdivision of Afghanistan, and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Afghanistan. (B) Agency or instrumentality For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term agency or instrumentality of the Government of Afghanistan means an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code, with each reference in such section to a foreign state deemed to be a reference to Afghanistan. (d) Effective date This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to funds made available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or any other Act for fiscal year 2014 and subsequent fiscal years.