N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31U-1.10

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

Section 19:31U-1.10 - Reporting requirements and annual reports

(a) An eligible business that is awarded tax credits under the program shall submit, annually, commencing in the year in which the grant of tax credits is issued and for the remainder of the commitment period, a report that indicates that the eligible business continues to maintain the number of new and retained full-time jobs and provides the salaries specified in the commitment agreement, including, but not limited to:

1. A certification, made pursuant to an agreed upon procedures letter acceptable to the Authority, of a qualified independent certified public accountant, which shall be qualified by the Authority pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:31U-1.9(f)3, containing the following:

i. The number of full-time employees and new or retained full-time jobs employed in the State;

ii. The list of affiliates that contributed to the full-time employees in the State;

iii. The number of full-time employees in the business's Statewide workforce;

iv. The number of full-time employees in New Jersey in the last tax period prior to the credit amount approval of any affiliate that contributed to the full-time employees and was not listed in the application; and

v. A copy of the business's applicable New Jersey tax return showing business income and withholdings as a condition of its continuation in the program, and the quarterly wage report required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:21-14 submitted to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development together with an annual payroll report showing:

(1) The new full-time jobs that were created in accordance with the project agreement;

(2) The new full-time jobs created during each subsequent year of the commitment period; and

(3) The withholdings and salaries, as measured by the median salary, of the new and retained full-time jobs created and the amount of withholdings paid to New Jersey;

2. Information on any change or anticipated change in the identity of the affiliates comprising the business elected to claim all or a portion of the credit;

3. The eligible business shall confirm that each contractor or subcontractor performing work at the qualified business facility is registered as required pursuant to the Public Works Contractor Registration Act, P.L. 1999, c. 238 (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.48 et seq.), has not been debarred by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from engaging in or bidding on Public Works Contracts in the State, and possesses a tax clearance certificate issued by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury; and

4. A certification indicating whether or not the business is aware of any condition, event, or act that would cause the business not to be in compliance with the approval, the Act, the commitment agreement, community benefits agreement pursuant to subsection b. of section 73 of P.L. 2020, c. 156, and this subchapter.

(b) The certified report required pursuant to (a) above is due 120 days after the end of the business's tax privilege period; and failure to timely submit the certified report, absent extenuating circumstances and the written approval of the Authority, shall result in the forfeiture of the tax credits for that privilege period.

(c) An eligible business shall explain, in the certified report required pursuant to (a) above, the reason for any discrepancies between the annual payroll report submitted by the eligible business to the Authority and the quarterly wage report submitted to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The chief executive officer of the eligible business, or an equivalent officer, shall certify that the information provided pursuant to (a) above and this subsection is true under the penalty of perjury. Claims, records, or statements submitted by an eligible business to the Authority in order to receive tax credits shall not be considered claims, records, or statements made in connection with State tax laws.

(d) Upon receipt and review to the Authority's satisfaction of each certified report required pursuant to (a) above submitted during the eligibility period, the Authority shall provide to the eligible business and the Director a certificate of compliance indicating the amount of tax credits that the eligible business may apply against its tax liability. The Authority shall prorate the tax credit for the first and last years of the eligibility period based on the number of full months the project was certified in the year the eligible business first certifies. No tax credit certificate will be valid without the certificate of compliance issued for the relevant tax privilege period. The certificate of compliance will indicate the amount of the tax credit certificate that will be recommended to the Division of Taxation for issuance for an identified tax privilege period.

(e) In conducting its annual review, the Authority may require a business to submit any information determined by the Authority to be necessary and relevant to its review.

(f) If the certified report required pursuant to (a) above submitted by a small business demonstrates that the business has met the number of new full-time employees specified in the growth plan pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:31U-1.3(d)1 in each year of the eligibility period, then the business shall be entitled to an increased credit amount for that tax period, and each subsequent tax period, for each additional full-time employee added above the number of full-time employees certified, until the full-time employees number meets the maximum number projected for the final year of the eligibility period. Failure to meet the projections in any year shall not constitute a default but shall cause the Authority to reduce the award in accordance with a schedule attached to the project agreement.

(g) An eligible business shall forfeit the credit amount for any tax period for which the eligible business's documentation remains uncertified as of the date for certification indicated in the commitment agreement, although credit amounts for the remainder of the years of the eligibility period shall remain available to the eligible business.

(h) Full-time employment for an accounting or privilege period shall be determined as the average of the monthly full-time employment for the period.

(i) A business may include an affiliate for any period, provided that the business provides a valid tax clearance certificate for the affiliate and a verification of the nature of the affiliate relationship during the relevant period, and provided further that the affiliate provides acceptable responses to the Authority's legal disclosures inquiries, as determined by the Authority, and the affiliate executes a joinder to the commitment agreement, in the form approved by the Authority. A business may remove an affiliate by notifying the Authority and the Director, in a form approved by the Authority, of the affiliate that is to be removed. A formal modification of the Authority's approval of the approval letter shall not be necessary to add or remove an affiliate after approval or execution of the approval letter.

(j) A business may change its name filed with the Authority by providing a copy of the filed amendment to the certificate of incorporation or formation, as the case may be, of the business and a valid tax clearance certificate with the business's new name. A formal modification of the Authority's approval shall not be necessary to change a business's name after approval or execution of the approval letter.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31U-1.10

Amended by R.2022 d.058, effective 5/16/2022.
See: 54 N.J.R. 124(a), 54 N.J.R. 909(b).
In (a)1i and (a)1ii, substitued "in the State" for "at, or associated with, the quailified business facility"; in (a)2 deleted "and" from the end; recodified former (a)3 as (a)4; added new (a)3; and in (c), substituted "chief executive officer" for "owner" and "equivalent officer" for "authorized agent of the owner".

Recodified from 19:31-22.10 56 N.J.R. 807(a), effective 5/6/2024