Section 7-9F-3 - Definitions.
7-9F-3. Definitions.
As used in the Technology Jobs Tax Credit Act:
A. "affiliate" means a person who directly or indirectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled by or is under common ownership or control with another person through ownership of voting securities or other ownership interests representing a majority of the total voting power of the entity;
B. "annual payroll expense" means the wages paid or payable by the taxpayer for the one-year period ending on the day the taxpayer applies for an additional credit pursuant to the Technology Jobs Tax Credit Act;
C. "base payroll expense" means the wages paid or payable by the taxpayer for the one-year period ending on the day one year prior to the day the taxpayer applies for an additional credit pursuant to the Technology Jobs Tax Credit Act, adjusted for any increase in the consumer price index for the United States for all items as published by the United States department of labor since that day;
D. "department" means the taxation and revenue department, the secretary of taxation and revenue or any employee of the department exercising authority lawfully delegated to that employee by the secretary;
E. "facility" means a factory, mill, plant, refinery, warehouse, dairy, feedlot, building or complex of buildings located within the state, including the land on which the facility is located and all machinery, equipment and other real and tangible personal property located at or within the facility and used in connection with the operation of the facility;
F. "qualified expenditure" means an expenditure or an allocated portion of an expenditure by a taxpayer in connection with qualified research at a qualified facility, including expenditures for depletable land and rent paid or incurred for land, improvements, the allowable amount paid or incurred to operate or maintain a facility, buildings, equipment, computer software, computer software upgrades, consultants and contractors performing work in New Mexico, payroll, technical books and manuals and test materials, but not including any expenditure on property that is owned by a municipality or county in connection with an industrial revenue bond project, property for which the taxpayer has received any credit pursuant to the Capital Equipment Tax Credit Act [repealed] or the Investment Credit Act [7-9A-1 NMSA 1978], property that was owned by the taxpayer or an affiliate before the effective date of the Technology Jobs Tax Credit Act or research and development expenditures reimbursed by a person who is not an affiliate of the taxpayer. If an expenditure is an allocation of an expenditure, the cost accounting methodology used for the allocation of the expenditure shall be the same cost accounting methodology used by the taxpayer in its other business activities;
G. "qualified facility" means a facility in New Mexico at which qualified research is conducted other than a facility operated by a taxpayer for the United States or any agency, department or instrumentality thereof;
H. "qualified research" means research:
(1) that is undertaken for the purpose of discovering information:
(a) that is technological in nature; and
(b) the application of which is intended to be useful in the development of a new or improved business component of the taxpayer; and
(2) substantially all of the activities of which constitute elements of a process of experimentation related to a new or improved function, performance, reliability or quality, but not related to style, taste or cosmetic or seasonal design factors;
I. "rural area" means any area of the state other than a class A county, a class B county that has a net taxable value for rate-setting purposes for any property tax year of more than three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000), the municipality of Rio Rancho and the area within three miles of the exterior boundaries of a class A county;
J. "taxpayer" means any of the following persons, other than a federal, state or other governmental unit or subdivision or an agency, department, institution or instrumentality thereof:
(1) a person liable for payment of any tax;
(2) a person responsible for withholding and payment or collection and payment of any tax;
(3) a person to whom an assessment has been made if the assessment remains unabated or the assessed amount has not been paid; or
(4) for purposes of the additional credit against the taxpayer's income tax pursuant to the Technology Jobs Tax Credit Act and to the extent of their respective interest in that entity, the shareholders, members, partners or other owners of:
(a) a small business corporation that has elected to be treated as an S corporation for federal income tax purposes; or
(b) an entity treated as a partnership or disregarded entity for federal income tax purposes; and
K. "wages" means remuneration in cash or other form for services performed by an employee for an employer.