26 U.S.C. § 5011 — Income tax credit for average cost of carrying excise tax

(a) This credit counts toward the general business credit under section 38. Certain wholesalers and permit holders can claim a distilled spirits credit for a taxable year. The credit equals two numbers multiplied together. The first number depends on who is claiming it. If the claimant is an "eligible wholesaler," the number is the cases of bottled distilled spirits it bought directly from the bottler that year. Those cases must have been bottled in the United States. If the claimant is a person subject to section 5005 who is not an eligible wholesaler, the number is different. It is the cases stored in a warehouse run by, or for, a state, its subdivision, or an agency of either. Title to those cases must not yet have passed on an unconditional sale. The second number is the "average tax-financing cost per case" for the most recent calendar year ending before the tax year begins. (b) An "eligible wholesaler" is a person who holds a Federal Alcohol Administration Act wholesaler permit. It cannot be a state, a political subdivision, or an agency of either. (c) The average tax-financing cost per case is a kind of interest calculation. It is the interest that would build up over 60 days, at the "deemed financing rate," on the "deemed Federal excise tax per case." The deemed financing rate for a year is the average of the corporate overpayment interest rates under section 6621(a)(1) for that year's calendar quarters. The deemed Federal excise tax per case is a fixed $25.68. (d) A "case" means twelve 80-proof, 750-milliliter bottles. To find the number of cases in any lot, divide the number of liters in that lot by 9.

The record. According to the source credit, 26 U.S.C. § 5011 was added by Public Law 109-59, title XI, § 11126(a), enacted August 10, 2005, and published at 119 Stat. 1957. The source credit reflects a single legislative action establishing this section, with no amendment activity noted beyond its original enactment. Historical context. Public Law 109-59 is widely known as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), a major surface transportation authorization measure. Such transportation bills are commonly understood to combine core highway and transit funding provisions with a range of revenue and offset provisions, often addressed in a title devoted to revenue measures, needed to satisfy budgetary rules or to fund specific programs. Provisions like § 5011, which supplies an income tax credit tied to the cost of carrying federal excise tax on distilled spirits, are consistent with the kind of narrowly targeted tax adjustments frequently attached to larger authorization acts to address industry-specific financing burdens. Beyond this general pattern, the record does not establish the specific policy rationale Congress had for including this distilled spirits credit within SAFETEA-LU, nor does it document any particular problem, industry request, or legislative history behind the provision. Any more specific account of legislative intent would be speculative and is not supported by the materials provided.