(a) Effective date. The provisions of this section apply to franchise tax reports originally due on or after January 1, 2008, except as otherwise noted.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Actual cost of uncompensated care--The amount determined by multiplying Operating Expenses by the Uncompensated Care Ratio where:
    (A) operating expenses are the amounts reported on line 2 and line 21, Internal Revenue Service Form 1065 or the amounts reported on line 2 and line 20, Internal Revenue Service Form 1120S or the corresponding line items from any other federal form filed, less any items that have already been subtracted from total revenue (e.g., bad debts);
    (B) uncompensated care ratio means uncompensated care charges less partial payments divided by total charges;
    (C) uncompensated care charges are the standard charges for health care services where the provider has not received any payment or where the provider has received partial payment that does not cover the cost of the health care provided to the patient. Uncompensated care charges do not include any portion of a charge that the health care provider has no right to collect under a private health care plan, under an agreement with an individual for a specific amount or under the charge limitations imposed by the programs described in subsection (e)(10)(A)(i) - (iii) of this section;
    (D) standard charges must be comparable to the charges applied to services provided to all patients of the health care provider;
    (E) partial payment is an amount that has been received toward uncompensated care charges that does not cover the cost of the services provided;
    (F) total charges are charges for all health care services, including uncompensated care;
    (G) records that clearly identify each patient, the procedure performed, and the standard charge for such a service, as well as payments received from each patient must be maintained by the health care provider for all uncompensated care;
    (H) a corresponding adjustment must be made to reduce the cost of goods sold deduction or the compensation deduction for the portion of the cost of goods sold or compensation that has been excluded from revenue:
      (i) the cost of goods sold deduction is reduced by subtracting the product of the cost of goods sold under §3.588 of this title (relating to Margin: Cost of Goods Sold) multiplied by the uncompensated care ratio;
      (ii) the compensation deduction is reduced by subtracting the product of the compensation and benefits amounts under §3.589 of this title (relating to Margin: Compensation) multiplied by the uncompensated care ratio.
  (2) Federal obligations--
    (A) stocks and other direct obligations of, and obligations unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States government and United States government agencies; and
    (B) direct obligations of a United States government-sponsored agency.
  (3) Health care institution--An ambulatory surgical center; an assisted living facility licensed under Health and Safety Code, Chapter 247; an emergency medical services provider; a home and community support services agency; a hospice; a hospital; a hospital system; an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded or a home and community-based services waiver program for persons with mental retardation adopted in accordance with the federal Social Security Act, §1915(c) (42 U.S.C. §1396n); a birthing center; a nursing home; an end stage renal disease facility licensed under Health and Safety Code, §251.011; or a pharmacy.
  (4) Health care provider--Any taxable entity that participates in the Medicaid program, Medicare program, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), state workers' compensation program, or TRICARE military health system as a provider of health care services.
  (5) Lending institution--An entity that makes loans; and
    (A) is regulated by the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Texas Department of Banking, the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, the Credit Union Department, or any comparable regulatory body;
    (B) is licensed by, registered with, or otherwise regulated by the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending;
    (C) is a "broker" or "dealer" as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 at 15 U.S.C. §78c; or
    (D) provides financing to unrelated parties solely for agricultural production.
  (6) Management company--A corporation, limited liability company, or other limited liability entity that conducts all or part of the active trade or business of another entity ("the managed entity") in exchange for a management fee and reimbursement of specified costs incurred in the conduct of the active trade or business of the managed entity, including wages and cash compensation as determined under Tax Code, §171.1013(a) and (b). To qualify as a management company:
    (A) the entity must perform active and substantial management and operational functions, control and direct the daily operations and provide services such as accounting, general administration, legal, financial or similar services; or
    (B) if the entity does not conduct all of the active trade or business of an entity, the entity must conduct all operations, as provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, for a distinct revenue-producing component of the entity.
  (7) Net distributive income--The net amount of income, gain, deduction, or loss relating to a pass-through entity or disregarded entity reportable to the owners for the tax year of the entity.
  (8) Obligation--Any bond, debenture, security, mortgage-backed security, pass-through certificate, or other evidence of indebtedness of the issuing entity. The term does not include a deposit, a repurchase agreement, a loan, a lease, a participation in a loan or pool of loans, a loan collateralized by an obligation of a United States government agency, or a loan guaranteed by a United States government agency.
  (9) Pro bono services--The direct provision of legal services to the poor, without an expectation of compensation.
  (10) Product--Services, tangible personal property, and intangible property.
  (11) Sales commission--
    (A) any form of compensation paid to a person for engaging in an act for which a license is required by Occupations Code, Chapter 1101; or
    (B) compensation paid to a sales representative by a principal in an amount that is based on the amount or level of certain orders for or sales of the principal's product and that the principal is required to report on Internal Revenue Service Form 1099-MISC (or would have been reported if the amount had met the Internal Revenue Service minimum reporting requirement).
    (C) for purposes of defining sales commission, a principal is a person who:
      (i) manufactures, produces, imports, distributes, or acts as an independent agent for the distribution of a product for sale;
      (ii) uses a sales representative to solicit orders for the product; and
      (iii) compensates the sales representative wholly or partly by sales commission.
  (12) Security--The meaning assigned by Internal Revenue Code, §475(c)(2), and includes instruments described by Internal Revenue Code, §475(e)(2)(B), (C), and (D).
  (13) Staff leasing services company--A business entity that offers staff leasing services, as that term is defined by Labor Code, §91.001, or a temporary employment service, as that term is defined by Labor Code, §93.001.
  (14) Tiered partnership arrangement--An ownership structure in which any of the interests in one taxable entity treated as a partnership or an S corporation for federal income tax purposes (a "lower tier entity") are owned by one or more other taxable entities (an "upper tier entity").
  (15) United States government--Any department or ministry of the federal government, including a federal reserve bank. The term does not include a state or local government, a commercial enterprise owned wholly or partly by the United States government, or a local governmental entity or commercial enterprise whose obligations are guaranteed by the United States government.
Cont'd...