26 U.S.C. § 4701
Section 4701 · Tax on issuer of registration-required obligation not in registered form
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 52 court decisions — leading case Minor v. United States (1969)
Most recently applied in In Re Veal (June 2011)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In the case of any person who issues a registration-required obligation which is not in registered form, there is hereby imposed on such person on the issuance of such obligation a tax in an amount equal to the product of—
(1) 1 percent of the principal amount of such obligation, multiplied by
(2) the number of calendar years (or portions thereof) during the period beginning on the date of issuance of such obligation and ending on the date of maturity.
For purposes of this section—
(1) Registration-required obligation
(A) In general
The term “registration-required obligation” has the same meaning as when used in section 163(f), except that such term shall not include any obligation which—
(i) is required to be registered under section 149(a), or
(ii) is described in subparagraph (B).
(B) Certain obligations not included
An obligation is described in this subparagraph if—
(i) there are arrangements reasonably designed to ensure that such obligation will be sold (or resold in connection with the original issue) only to a person who is not a United States person,
(ii) interest on such obligation is payable only outside the United States and its possessions, and
(iii) on the face of such obligation there is a statement that any United States person who holds such obligation will be subject to limitations under the United States income tax laws.
(2) Registered form
The term “registered form” has the same meaning as when used in section 163(f).
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2010—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 111–147 amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The term ‘registration-required obligation’ has the same meaning as when used in section 163(f), except that such term shall not include any obligation required to be registered under section 149(a).”
1986—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “section 149(a)” for “section 103(j)”.
Effective Date of 2010 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 111–147 applicable to obligations issued after the date which is 2 years after Mar. 18, 2010, see section 502(f) of Pub. L. 111–147, set out as a note under section 149 of this title.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–514 applicable to bonds issued after Aug. 15, 1986, except as otherwise provided, see sections 1311 to 1318 of Pub. L. 99–514, set out as an Effective Date; Transitional Rules note under section 141 of this title.
Effective Date
Section applicable to obligations issued after Dec. 31, 1982, with an exception for certain warrants, see section 310(d)(1), (3) of Pub. L. 97–248, set out as an Effective Date of 1982 Amendment note under section 103 of this title.