§ 44-63-3 - Eligibility for credit. [Repealed effective December 31, 2016 pursuant to § 44-63-5.].
SECTION 44-63-3
§ 44-63-3 Eligibility for credit.[Repealed effective December 31, 2016 pursuant to § 44-63-5.].– (a) Only companies with business primarily in those industries or trades,identified by the corporation upon advisory resolution of the Rhode IslandScience and Technology Advisory Council as "Innovation Industries" producingtraded good or services, shall be eligible for the Incentives for Innovationand Growth as provided in §§ 44-63-1 and 44-63-2. An eligible companymust make application to the corporation prior to claiming the credit, and thecorporation shall be authorized to approve no more than one million dollars($1,000,000) in credit applications in any two (2) calendar year period.
(b) The corporation shall approve no application under thischapter until it has first prepared and publicly released an analysis of theimpact the proposed investment will or may have on the State. The analysisshall be supported by appropriate data and documentation and shall consider,but not be limited to, the following factors:
(i) The impact on the industry or industries in which theapplicant will be involved;
(ii) State fiscal matters, including the state budget(revenues and expenses);
(iii) The financial exposure of the taxpayers of the stateunder the plans for the proposed investment and negative foreseeablecontingencies that may arise therefrom;
(iv) The approximate number of full-time, part-time,temporary, seasonal and/or permanent jobs projected to be created, constructionand non-construction;
(v) Identification of geographic sources of the staffing foridentified jobs;
(vi) The projected duration of the identified constructionjobs;
(vii) The approximate wage rates for each category of theidentified jobs;
(viii) The types of fringe benefits to be provided with theidentified jobs, including healthcare insurance and any retirement benefits;
(ix) The projected fiscal impact on increased personal incometaxes to the state of Rhode Island; and
(x) The description of any plan or process intended tostimulate hiring from the host community, training of employees or potentialemployees, and outreach to minority job applicants and minority businesses.
(c) The corporation shall monitor every impact analysis itcompletes through the duration of any approved tax credit and for two (2) yearsafter the taxpayer no longer receives the credit. Such monitoring shall includeannual reports which shall be transmitted to the division of taxation, andshall be available to the public for inspection by any person, and shall bepublished by the tax administrator on the tax division website. The annualreports on the impact analysis shall include:
(1) Actual versus projected impact for all consideredfactors; and
(2) Verification of all commitments made in consideration ofstate incentives or aid.
(d) Upon its preparation and release of the analysis requiredby subsection (b) of this section, the corporation shall provide copies of thatanalysis to the chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, thehouse and senate fiscal advisors, the department of labor and training and thedivision of taxation. Any such analysis shall be available to the public forinspection by any person and shall by published by the tax administrator on thetax division website. Annually thereafter, through and including the second taxyear after any taxpayer has applied for and received a tax credit pursuant tothis chapter, the department of labor and training shall certify to thechairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, the house and senatefiscal advisors, the corporation and the division of taxation that: (i) theactual number of new full-time jobs with benefits created by the tax credit,not including construction jobs, is on target to meet or exceed the estimatednumber of new jobs identified in the analysis above; and (ii) the actual numberof existing full-time jobs with benefits has not declined. For purposes of thissection, "full-time jobs with benefits" means jobs that require working aminimum of thirty (30) hours per week within the state, with a median wage thatexceeds by five percent (5%) the median annual wage for full-time jobs in RhodeIsland and within the taxpayer's industry, with a benefit package that includeshealthcare insurance plus other benefits typical of companies within thetaxpayer's industry. The department of labor and training shall also certifyannually to the chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, thehouse and senate fiscal advisors, and the division of taxation that jobscreated by the tax credit are "new jobs" in the state of Rhode Island, meaningthat the employees of the project are in addition to, and without a reductionof, those employees of the taxpayer currently employed in Rhode Island, are notrelocated from another facility of the taxpayer in Rhode Island or areemployees assumed by the taxpayer as the result of a merger or acquisition of acompany already located in Rhode Island. The certifications made by thedepartment of labor and training shall be available to the public forinspection by any person and shall be published by the tax administrator on thetax division website.
(e) The corporation, with the assistance of the taxpayer, thedepartment of labor and training, the department of human services and thedivision of taxation shall provide annually an analysis of whether any of theemployees of the taxpayer has received RIte Care or RIte Share benefits and theimpact such benefits or assistance may have on the state budget. This analysisshall be available to the public for inspection by any person and shall bepublished by the tax administrator on the tax division website. Notwithstandingany other provision of law or rule or regulation, the division of taxation, thedepartment of labor and training and the department of human services areauthorized to present, review and discuss taxpayer-specific tax or employmentinformation or data with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation(RIEDC), the chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, and/orthe house and senate fiscal advisors for the purpose of verification andcompliance with this tax credit reporting requirement.
(f) Any agreements or contracts entered into by thecorporation and the taxpayer shall be sent to the division of taxation and beavailable to the public for inspection by any person and shall be published bythe tax administrator on the tax division website.
(g) By August 15th of each year the taxpayer shall report thesource and amount of any bonds, grants, loans, loan guarantees, matching fundsor tax credits received from any state governmental entity, state agency orpublic agency as defined in § 37-2-7 received during the previous statefiscal year. This annual report shall be sent to the division of taxation andbe available to the public for inspection by any person and shall be publishedby the tax administrator on the tax division website.
(h) By August 15th of each year the division of taxationshall report the name, address, and amount of tax credit received for eachtaxpayer during the previous state fiscal year to the corporation, thechairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, the house and senatefiscal advisors, the department of labor and training and the division oftaxation. This report shall be available to the public for inspection by anyperson and shall be published by the tax administrator on the tax divisionwebsite.