,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gfae ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,rice of ,south ,carolina introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to provide a payroll tax credit for certain expenses associated with protecting employees from ,,covid-#ai4 #a4 ,healthy workplace tax credit 7a7 ,in general ,in the case of an employer1 there shall be allowed as a credit against applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal to #ej percent of the sum of-- 7#a7 the qualified employee protection expenses paid or incurred by the employer during such calendar quarter1 7#b7 the qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses paid or incurred by the employer during such calendar quarter1 and 7#c7 the qualified workplace technology expenses paid or incurred by the employer during such calendar quarter4 7b7 ,limitations and refundability 7#a7 ,overall dollar limitation on credit 7,a7 ,in general ,the amount of the credit allowed under subsection 7a7 with respect to any employer for any calendar quarter shall not exceed the excess 7if any7 of-- 7i7 the applicable dollar limit with respect to such employer for such calendar quarter1 over 7ii7 the aggregate credits allowed under subsection 7a7 with respect to such employer for all preceding calendar quarters4 7,b7 ,applicable dollar limit ,the term applicable dollar limit means1 with respect to any employer for any calendar quarter1 the sum of-- 7i7 #a1jjj1 multiplied so much of the average number of employees employed by such employer during such calendar quarter as does not exceed #ejj1 plus 7ii7 #gej1 multiplied by so much of such average number of employees as exceeds #ejj but does not exceed #a1jjj1 plus 7iii7 #ejj1 multiplied by so much of such average number of employees as exceeds #a1jjj4 7#b7 ,credit limited to employment taxes ,the credit allowed by subsection 7a7 with respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes 7reduced by any credits allowed under subsections 7e7 and 7f7 of section #caaa of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 sections #gjja and #gjjc of the ,families ,first ,coronavirus ,response ,act1 and section #bcja of the ,,cares ,act7 on the wages paid with respect to the employment of all the employees of the eligible employer for such calendar quarter4 7#c7 ,refundability of excess credit 7,a7 ,in general ,if the amount of the credit under subsection 7a7 exceeds the limitation of paragraph 7#b7 for any calendar quarter1 such excess shall be treated as an overpayment that shall be refunded under sections #fdjb7;a7 and #fdac7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7,b7 ,treatment of payments ,for purposes of section #acbd of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 any amounts due to the employer under this paragraph shall be treated in the same manner as a refund due from a credit provision referred to in subsection 7b77#b7 of such section4 7c7 ,qualified employee protection expenses ,for purposes of this section1 the term qualified employee protection expenses means amounts paid or incurred by the employer for-- 7#a7 testing employees of the employer for ,,covid-#ai 7including on a periodic basis71 7#b7 equipment to protect employees of the employer from contracting ,,covid-#ai1 including masks1 gloves1 and disinfectants1 and 7#c7 cleaning products or services 7whether provided by an employee of the taxpayer or a cleaning service provider7 related to preventing the spread of ,,covid-#ai4 7d7 ,qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,in general ,the term qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses means amounts paid or incurred by the employer to design and reconfigure retail space1 work areas1 break areas1 or other areas that employees or customers regularly use in the ordinary course of the employer's trade or business if such design and reconfiguration-- 7,a7 has a primary purpose of preventing the spread of ,,covid-#ai1 7,b7 is with respect to an area that is located in the ,united ,states and that is leased or owned by the employer1 7,c7 is consistent with the purpose of the property immediately before the reconfiguration1 7,d7 is commensurate with the risks faced by the employees or customers or is consistent with recommendations made by the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention or the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration1 7,e7 is completed pursuant to a reconfiguration plan and no comparable reconfiguration plan was in place before ,march #ac1 #bjbj1 and 7,f7 is completed before ,january #a1 #bjba4 7#b7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary shall prescribe such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection1 including guidance defining primary purpose and reconfiguration plan4 7e7 ,qualified workplace technology expenses ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,in general ,the term qualified workplace technology expenses means amounts paid or incurred by the employer for technology systems that employees or customers use in the ordinary course of the employer's trade or business if such technology system-- 7,a7 has a primary purpose of preventing the spread of ,,covid-#ai1 7,b7 is used for limiting physical contact between customers and employees in the ,united ,states1 7,c7 is commensurate with the risks faced by the employees or customers or is consistent with recommendations made by the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention or the ,occupational ,safety and ,health ,administration1 7,d7 is acquired by the taxpayer after ,march #ab1 #bjbj1 and is not acquired pursuant to a written binding contract entered into before such date1 and 7,e7 is placed in service by the taxpayer before ,january #a1 #bjba4 7#b7 ,technology systems ,the term technology systems means computer software 7as defined in section #afg7;f77#a77 and qualified technological equipment 7as defined in section #afh7;i77#b774 7#c7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary shall prescribe such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection1 including guidance defining primary purpose4 7f7 ,other definitions ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,applicable employment taxes ,the term applicable employment taxes means the following3 7,a7 ,the taxes imposed under section #caaa7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7,b7 ,so much of the taxes imposed under section #cbba7;a7 of such ,code as are attributable to the rate in effect under section #caaa7;a7 of such ,code4 7#b7 ,,covid-#ai ,except where the context clearly indicates otherwise1 any reference in this section to ,,covid-#ai shall be treated as including a reference to the virus which causes ,,covid-#ai4 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,treasury or the ,secretary's delegate4 7#d7 ,other terms ,any term used in this section 7other than subsection 7b77#a77;,b77 which is also used in chapter #ba or #bb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf shall have the same meaning as when used in such chapter4 7g7 ,certain governmental employers ,this credit shall not apply to the ,government of the ,united ,states1 the government of any ,state or political subdivision thereof1 or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing4 7h7 ,special rules 7#a7 ,aggregation rule ,all persons treated as a single employer under subsection 7a7 or 7b7 of section #eb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 or subsection 7m7 or 7o7 of section #dad of such ,code1 shall be treated as one employer for purposes of this section4 7#b7 ,denial of double benefit 7,a7 ,in general ,rules similar to the rules of paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of section #bhj;,c7b7 shall apply for purposes of this section4 7,b7 ,expenses not taken into account more than once ,any qualified workplace reconfiguration expense or qualified workplace technology expense shall not be treated as a qualified employee protection expense and any qualified workplace technology expense shall not be treated as a qualified workplace reconfiguration expense4 7#c7 ,third-party payors ,any credit allowed under this section shall be treated as a credit described in section #ceaa7;d77#b7 of such ,code4 7#d7 ,election not to have section apply ,this section shall not apply with respect to any eligible employer for any calendar quarter if such employer elects 7at such time and in such manner as the ,secretary may prescribe7 not to have this section apply4 7i7 ,transfers to certain trust funds ,there are hereby appropriated to the ,federal ,old-,age and ,survivors ,insurance ,trust ,fund and the ,federal ,disability ,insurance ,trust ,fund established under section #bja of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dja7 and the ,social ,security ,equivalent ,benefit ,account established under section #ae;,a7a7 of the ,railroad ,retirement ,act of #aigd 7#de ,u4,s4,c4 #bcan-#a7;a77 amounts equal to the reduction in revenues to the ,treasury by reason of this section 7without regard to this subsection74 ,amounts appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be transferred from the general fund at such times and in such manner as to replicate to the extent possible the transfers which would have occurred to such ,trust ,fund or ,account had this section not been enacted4 7j7 ,treatment of deposits ,the ,secretary shall waive any penalty under section #ffef of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf for any failure to make a deposit of any applicable employment taxes if the ,secretary determines that such failure was due to the reasonable anticipation of the credit allowed under this section4 7k7 ,regulations and guidance ,the ,secretary shall prescribe such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section1 including-- 7#a7 with respect to the application of the credit under subsection 7a7 to third-party payors 7including professional employer organizations1 certified professional employer organizations1 or agents under section #cejd of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf71 regulations or other guidance allowing such payors to submit documentation necessary to substantiate the amount of the credit allowed under subsection 7a71 and 7#b7 regulations or other guidance to prevent abusive transactions4 7l7 ,application ,this section shall only apply to amounts paid or incurred after ,march #ab1 #bjbj1 and before ,january #a1 #bjba4