Sponsors (20)
Ask me about this bill
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Adds a new paragraph (23) to 26 U.S.C. 6103(l) authorizing the Secretary to disclose return information to officers and employees of the Federal Communications Commission, upon written request, to prepare the Act's required biennial reports to Congress, with limits on use and prohibiting inclusion of taxpayer-identifiable return information in the reports.
Adds new section 45BB to Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A (chapter 1) of the Internal Revenue Code establishing the 'Carriage of Independent Programmers Credit' and related definitions and rules.
Amends subsection (b) of section 38 to add the carriage of independent programmers credit as a new paragraph (42) making the credit part of the general business credit.
Clerical amendment adding a new item for section 45BB to the table of sections for subpart D.
Creates a new federal income tax credit to encourage video distributors (like cable, satellite, and streaming MVPDs) to carry qualified independent programmers. For each qualifying carriage agreement, a distributor can claim a credit equal to the lesser of its actual net license fees paid or $0.10 per average monthly subscriber, with a yearly cap of $0.30 per average monthly subscriber across all agreements. Amounts used for the credit cannot also be deducted.
Requires the FCC to report to Congress within 180 days and then every two years on how many qualified independent programmers are being carried, how long they’re carried, and to offer recommendations to increase their presence. Treasury may share limited tax return information with the FCC to support these reports, but the reports cannot include taxpayer‑identifiable information.
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced March 18, 2025 by W. Greg Steube · Last progress March 18, 2025