Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) as part of the Hurricane Katrina disaster area to provide tax benefits to businesses and individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina, including: (1) tax-exempt bond financing and additional advance refunding of existing bond obligations in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi; (2) increased depreciation and expensing allowances for GO Zone property; (3) expensing of GO Zone demolition and cleanup costs and environmental remediation costs; (4) increased expensing for GO Zone reforestation expenditures; and (5) carrybacks of net operating losses for certain GO Zone businesses and public utilities.
Provides for federal guarantees of bonds issued in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi for revenue and infrastructure purposes related to Hurricane Katrina.
Establishes a Rita GO Zone as part of the Hurricane Rita disaster area and extends to businesses and individuals in such Zone tax benefits currently available in Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including: (1) tax-free distributions and loans from retirement plans for disaster relief; (2) suspension of limitations on personal casualty losses; and (3) adjustments to earned income of Hurricane Rita victims in 2005 to preserve eligibility for certain tax benefits.
Allows certain small employers a business tax credit for up to 40 percent of the wages paid to employees in a GO Zone between August 29 and December 31, 2005.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should designate Gulf Coast Recovery Bonds in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.