N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31S-1.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 12, June 17, 2024

Section 19:31S-1.7 - Review of allocation and certification of project completion

(a) A business seeking an approval of tax credits for a qualified wind energy facility must apply for tax credits by July 1, 2025, and a business shall submit its documentation for approval of its credit amount by July 1, 2028.

(b) The Authority shall conduct a review of the applications commencing with the application bearing the earliest date a completed application is submitted or if interest in the Program so warrants, at its discretion and upon notice, institute a competitive application process whereby all applications submitted by a date certain will be evaluated as if submitted on that date. The Authority may require the submission of additional information to complete the application or may require the resubmission of the entire application, if incomplete. The review will determine whether the applicant:

1. Complies with the eligibility criteria;

2. Satisfies the submission requirements; and

3. Adequately provides information for the subject application.

(c) In determining whether the company meets the net positive economic benefits test, as certified pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:31S-1.5(a)2iv, the Authority's consideration shall include, but not be limited to, the direct benefits to the State, including local taxes that may benefit the State. The Authority shall also consider indirect benefits caused by the business's relocation to New Jersey, except, that the Authority will not consider indirect benefits if a business is including new full-time employees resulting from an equipment supply coordination agreement in the calculation of its new full-time employees. The Authority may also consider taxes paid directly or generated indirectly by retained employees, at the Authority's discretion based on evidence satisfactory to the Authority that the employees are at risk of being lost to another state or country or eliminated, and induced benefits derived from construction, provided that such determination shall not include any capital investment or employees for which an incentive has been previously provided or any capital investment by a local or State governmental entity.

(d) Upon completion of the review of an application pursuant to (b) and (c) above, and receipt of a recommendation from Authority staff on the application, the Board shall determine whether or not to approve the application and the maximum amount of tax credits to be granted. The Board shall promptly notify the applicant and the Director of the Division of Taxation of the determination. The Board's award of the credits will be subject to conditions that must be met in order to maintain the approval and to receive the tax credits. An approval letter setting forth the conditions and indemnification and insurance requirements will be sent to the applicant. Such conditions shall include, but not be limited to, the requirement that the project does not violate any environmental law requirements and that the business agrees to extend the four-year statute of limitations for the collection and assessment of corporation business tax and insurance premiums tax to the eligibility period. The approval letter shall contain the requirement that the project comply with the Authority's prevailing wage requirements, P.L. 2007, c. 245 (N.J.S.A. 34:1B-5.1), for all capital investment and with the Authority's affirmative action requirements, P.L. 1979, c. 303 (N.J.S.A. 34:1B-5.4), commencing November 15, 2021. The approval letter shall also set forth a condition requiring the business to maintain the project at the qualified wind energy facility after the eligibility period to the extent the net positive economic benefit is calculated based on a period of years after the eligibility period pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:31S-1.3(c).

1. If the application is approved, the project approval is subject to the terms and conditions of the approval letter, and any benefits under the Program are subject to the completion of the project and satisfaction of the capital investment and employment qualifications required for the offshore wind economic development tax credits.

2. In the approval letter to the business, the Authority shall set a date by which its approval will expire.

(e) Within 12 months following the date of application approval by the Authority, each approved business shall submit progress information indicating that the business has site plan approval, financing for, and site control of, the qualified wind energy facility, except that projects consisting of new construction shall have 24 months. Commencing with the date six months following the date of application approval, and every six months thereafter until completion of the project, each approved business shall submit an update of the status of the project to the Authority. Unless the Authority determines in its sole discretion that extenuating circumstances exist for extensions, the Authority's approval of the tax credits shall expire if the Authority does not timely receive the progress information or status update.

(f) Upon completion of the capital investment and employment requirements of the Program, the business shall submit a certification of a qualified independent certified public accountant and any receipts or verifiable documentation requested by the Authority, which may be made pursuant to an "agreed upon procedures" letter acceptable to the Authority evidencing that the business has satisfied the conditions relating to capital investment, any employment requirements, and other eligibility requirements.

1. The certification with respect to the capital investment shall define the amount of the capital investment and shall not be increased regardless of additional capital investment in the qualified wind energy facility, provided; however, that in no event, will the amount of capital investment exceed the amount of capital investment previously approved by the Board. In the event the capital investment is reduced below the capital investment in the approval of the application, the Authority may reevaluate the net positive economic benefit and reduce the size of the award accordingly. If the certification indicates that the capital investment is less than the minimum eligibility requirement, the business shall no longer be eligible for tax credits.

2. The certification with respect to employment shall include the number of full-time employees employed at the qualified wind energy facility or through an equipment supply coordination agreement, a copy of all equipment supply coordination agreements through which the business is meeting employment requirements under the Program, and the salary of all new full-time employees. To include a new full-time employee employed through an equipment supply coordination agreement, the business shall submit a certification from the company that is the other party to the equipment supply coordination agreement stating that its employees may be included by the business to meet the requirements of the Program, the number of new full-time employees employed through equipment supply coordination agreement, the number of hours worked by such employees pursuant to the equipment supply coordination agreement, and the salary of such employees. In the event the number of new full-time employees or salaries in the certification is reduced below the number of new full-time employees in the approval of the application or the salaries proposed in the application, the Authority may reevaluate the net positive economic benefit and reduce the size of the award accordingly. If the certification indicates that the employment is less than the required number of new full-time employees for the first year of the award, the business shall no longer be eligible for tax credits.

3. The certification shall include the list of affiliates that contributed to the capital investment or full-time employees at the qualified wind energy facility and the number of full-time employees in New Jersey in the last tax period prior to the credit amount approval of any such affiliate that was not listed in the application.

4. The Authority shall qualify certified public accountants and provide to the business the list of qualified certified public accountants; provided, the business may select a certified public accountant that is independent to the business and not on the Authority's list of qualified certified public accountants for purposes of the capital investment certification, or the business's chief financial officer may certify for purposes of the employment certification, upon the Authority's prior approval, if the business demonstrates an extenuating circumstance prohibiting the business from retaining a qualified certified public accountant. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, the unavailability of any of the qualified certified public accountants to timely complete the certification or none of the qualified certified public accountants are independent to the business.

5. The certification shall be submitted to the Authority no later than three years after the Authority's application approval, unless the Authority determines in its sole discretion that there are extenuating circumstances for extensions, but in no event later than July 1, 2028.

6. The Authority may seek additional information from the business and/or information from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to support the certification.

(g) Once the Authority accepts the timely certification of the business that it has satisfied the capital investment, employment, and any other eligibility requirements of the Program, and the Authority determines that all necessary conditions have been met, the Authority shall notify the business and notify the Director of the Division of Taxation, and the business shall receive its tax credit certificate. The use of the tax credit certificate shall be subject to the receipt of an annual letter of compliance.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31S-1.7

Amended by R.2021 d.131, effective 11/15/2021.
See: 53 N.J.R. 1347(a), 53 N.J.R. 1922(a).
Rewrote the section.

Recodified from 19:31-20.7 56 N.J.R. 807(a), effective 5/6/2024