Broadcast VOICES Act

This bill tells the FCC to help increase diversity in who owns broadcast stations. It does this by giving a tax break to certain sales of radio or TV stations that the FCC certifies for this purpose. If a seller chooses, the profit from a certified sale does not get taxed right away. It can be treated like a forced sale “swap,” so the seller can roll the profit into similar station stock or lower the tax basis of certain business property, delaying taxes until later .

To keep the tax break, the deal has to follow FCC rules about how the station is owned and managed for a set time. If those rules aren’t met later, the delayed taxes become due as of the day the rules were broken. The seller makes the tax-choice on their tax return for the year of the sale, and that choice sticks for that year and after. The usual rules for figuring the new basis apply to property bought in this kind of swap .

• Who is affected: Owners selling interests in FCC-certified broadcast station deals tied to diversity efforts .
• What changes: Sellers can choose to delay paying tax on gains from these sales by reinvesting in similar station stock or by reducing the basis of certain business property; but if FCC ownership/management rules aren’t met later, the gain becomes taxable then .
• When it applies: In the tax year of a sale that the FCC has certified under its rules; basis rules for replacement property follow existing swap rules .