Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) have introduced a bipartisan bill, the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act, that would exempt broadband funding from federal taxation. A similar bill was previously introduced in the Senate in September of 2022. While Congress committed billions of dollars to broadband deployment grants through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan to help close the digital divide, trade associations have argued that taxing these grants will reduce the impact of the programs. This bill exempting grants from being treated as taxable income would ensure that the grants go directly towards the goal of universal broadband service.
