House Bill 485 Summary

• Creates a state income tax credit for qualified broadband consumer-taxpayers who make customer contributions toward construction of broadband equipment and networks in unserved areas of Idaho, applicable to taxable years beginning January 1, 2014.

• Limits the credit to $10,000 annually for individual taxpayers and $50,000 for small business taxpayers (defined as entities with 5-49 employees), claimed over a five-year period at one-fifth per year with excess amounts refundable.

• Requires broadband providers to incur investment expenses up to their prior year's average investment per customer, with customers paying the difference between qualified construction expenses and the provider's investment through a formula-based calculation.

• Defines "qualified broadband service" as wireline or wireless internet access with minimum speeds of 4 megabits per second download and 1 megabit per second upload, and "unserved area" as locations where at least 90% of qualified consumers lack access to such service.

• Authorizes the Idaho State Tax Commission to establish rules for attributing credits to shareholders, partners, and beneficiaries of S corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates proportional to their income or loss distributions.