Veterans Jobs Opportunity Act

“45BB. Veteran small business start-up credit

“(a) In general—For purposes of section 38, the veteran small business start-up credit determined under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 15 percent of so much of the qualified start-up expenditures paid or incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable year with respect to an applicable veteran-owned business as does not exceed $50,000.

“(b) Definitions—For purposes of this section—

“(1) Applicable veteran-owned small business—The term applicable veteran-owned small business means a small business—

“(A) owned and controlled by 1 or more veterans or spouses of veterans, and

“(B) the principal place of business of which is in an underserved community.

“(2) Ownership and control—The term owned and controlled means—

“(A) with respect to any of the individuals described in paragraph (1)(A), that the conduct of any trade or business of the small business is not a passive activity (as defined in section 469(c)), and

“(B) with respect to the small business—

“(i) such small business is a sole proprietorship,

“(ii) if such small business is a corporation, ownership (by vote or value) by the individuals described in paragraph (1)(A) of greater than 50 percent of the stock in such corporation, or

“(iii) if such small business is a partnership, ownership by the individuals described in paragraph (1)(A) of greater than 50 percent of the profits interests or capital interests in such partnership.

“(3) Qualified start-up expenditures—The term qualified start-up expenditures means—

“(A) any start-up expenditures (as defined in section 195(c)), and

“(B) any amounts paid or incurred during the taxable year for the purchase or lease of real property, or the purchase of personal property, placed in service during the taxable year and used in the active conduct of a trade or business.

“(4) Small business

“(A) In general—The term small business means, with respect to any taxable year, any person engaged in a trade or business in the United States if—

“(i) the gross receipts of such person for the preceding taxable year did not exceed $5,000,000, or

“(ii) in the case of a person to which clause (i) does not apply, such person employed not more than 50 full-time employees during the preceding taxable year.

“(B) Full-time employee—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), an employee shall be considered full-time if such employee is employed at least 30 hours per week for 20 or more calendar weeks in the taxable year.

“(5) Underserved community—The term underserved community means any area located within—

“(A) a HUBZone (as defined in section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)), as in effect on the date of enactment of this section),

“(B) an empowerment zone, or enterprise community, designated under section 1391 (and without regard to whether or not such designation remains in effect),

“(C) an area of low income or moderate income (as recognized by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council), or

“(D) a county with persistent poverty (as classified by the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture).

“(6) Veteran or spouse of veteran—The term veteran or spouse of a veteran has the meaning given such term by section 7(a)(31)(G)(ii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(31)(G)(ii), as in effect on the date of enactment of this section).

“(c) Special rules—For purposes of this section—

“(1) Election to take credit—No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any expenditures unless the taxpayer elects to have this section apply to such expenditures.

“(2) Year of election—The taxpayer may elect the application of this section only for the first 2 taxable years for which ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in carrying on such trade or business are allowable as a deduction by the taxpayer under section 162.

“(3) Controlled groups and common control—All persons treated as a single employer under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 shall be treated as 1 person.

“(4) No double benefit—If a credit is determined under this section with respect to any property, the basis of such property shall be reduced by the amount of the credit attributable to such property.

“(5) Verification—For purposes of determining whether an entity qualifies as an applicable veteran-owned small business for purposes of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall verify that the requirements described in subsection (b)(1) have been satisfied.”

“(42) the veteran small business start-up credit determined under section 45BB.”