Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
BRUNSWICK, Maine – U.S. Senator Angus King, Co-Chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation led by Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) to ensure historic broadband funding is used efficiently to expand connectivity across Maine. The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA) would classify broadband funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) as non-taxable, ensuring that federal broadband funding awarded to Maine organizations can be used wholly for that purpose, rather than going back to the government through taxes.
Currently, grants awarded to industry for broadband deployment are factored into an organization’s income unless Congress acts to address the problem. This new bipartisan legislation moves to exclude broadband deployment grants awarded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and ARP from an organization’s income so the impact of the investments can be maximized.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan included massive investments to bring affordable, reliable broadband connections to every Maine community. But execution is just as important as vision, and now, we have to ensure we can make use of every dime of this once-in-a-generation funding is used effectively,” said Senator King. “Taxing federal broadband grants undercuts the need we’re trying to address. It undermines the carefully-allocated funding headed to our communities and creates needless expenses for companies looking to invest in Maine’s broadband future. The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA) is a commonsense step stop unnecessary taxation, encourage private investments, and ensure Maine can make the most of our historic broadband funding. I hope Congress will pass this bipartisan effort to help these historic bills reach their full potential.”
“This is smart and focused legislation that will amplify the impact of both the BIL and ARP directly benefiting small businesses, communities, and consumers,” said Andrew Butcher, President of the Maine Connectivity Authority. “Maine’s Internet Service Providers, contractors, and consumers have a huge job to build modern, world class high speed internet infrastructure and the BGTTA will help ensure that the federal investment reaches as far as possible to ensure internet for all. ”
As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator King has been a strong advocate for expanding affordable broadband access as a way to increase economic opportunity in rural Maine. After Senator King’s advocacy and negotiation, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest $65 billion in broadband infrastructure across the nation. The bills historic broadband provisions include over $40 billion in block grants to states and $2 billion for tribal governments, mirroring Senator King’s bipartisan BRIDGE Act and the Digital Equity Act, he championed to invest $2.75 billion in an array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity.” This is in addition to securing $10 billion in funding for broadband in the American Rescue Plan, as well as more than $7 billion to close the digital divide for students nationwide. Together, these constitute the largest investment in broadband in the nation’s history.