NE Code § 77-6831 (2021)
2021 Nebraska Revised Statutes|Chapter 77 - Revenue and Taxation|77-6831 - Tax incentives; amount; conditions; fee; ImagiNE Nebraska Cash Fund; created; use; investment.

77-6831.  Tax incentives; amount; conditions; fee; ImagiNE Nebraska Cash Fund; created; use; investment.(1) A taxpayer shall be entitled to the sales and use tax incentives contained in subsection (2) of this section if the taxpayer:(a) Attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least five million dollars and hires at least thirty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period;(b) Attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty million dollars and hires at least two hundred fifty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period; or(c) Attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least fifty million dollars at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period. To receive incentives under this subdivision, the taxpayer must meet the following conditions:(i) The average compensation of the taxpayer's employees at the qualified location or locations for each year of the performance period must equal at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application;(ii) The taxpayer must offer to its employees who constitute full-time employees as defined and described in section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section, at the qualified location or locations for each year of the performance period, the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan, as those terms are defined and described in section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section; and(iii) The taxpayer must offer a sufficient package of benefits as described in subdivision (1)(j) of section 77-6828.(2) A taxpayer meeting the requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall be entitled to the following sales and use tax incentives:(a) A refund of all sales and use taxes paid under the Local Option Revenue Act, the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, the Qualified Judgment Payment Act, and sections 13-319, 13-324, and 13-2813 from the date of the complete application through the meeting of the required levels of employment and investment for all purchases, including rentals, of:(i) Qualified property used at the qualified location or locations;(ii) Property, excluding motor vehicles, based in this state and used in both this state and another state in connection with the qualified location or locations except when any such property is to be used for fundraising for or for the transportation of an elected official;(iii) Tangible personal property by a contractor or repairperson after appointment as a purchasing agent of the owner of the improvement to real estate when such property is incorporated into real estate at the qualified location or locations. The refund shall be based on fifty percent of the contract price, excluding any land, as the cost of materials subject to the sales and use tax;(iv) Tangible personal property by a contractor or repairperson after appointment as a purchasing agent of the taxpayer when such property is annexed to, but not incorporated into, real estate at the qualified location or locations. The refund shall be based on the cost of materials subject to the sales and use tax that were annexed to real estate; and(v) Tangible personal property by a contractor or repairperson after appointment as a purchasing agent of the taxpayer when such property is both (A) incorporated into real estate at the qualified location or locations and (B) annexed to, but not incorporated into, real estate at the qualified location or locations. The refund shall be based on fifty percent of the contract price, excluding any land, as the cost of materials subject to the sales and use tax; and(b) An exemption from all sales and use taxes under the Local Option Revenue Act, the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, the Qualified Judgment Payment Act, and sections 13-319, 13-324, and 13-2813 on the types of purchases, including rentals, listed in subdivision (a) of this subsection for such purchases, including rentals, occurring during each year of the performance period in which the taxpayer is at or above the required levels of employment and investment, except that the exemption shall be for the actual materials purchased with respect to subdivisions (2)(a)(iii), (iv), and (v) of this section. The Tax Commissioner shall issue such rules, regulations, certificates, and forms as are appropriate to implement the efficient use of this exemption.(3)(a) Upon execution of the agreement, the taxpayer shall be issued a direct payment permit under section 77-2705.01, notwithstanding the three million dollars in purchases limitation in subsection (1) of section 77-2705.01, for each qualified location specified in the agreement, unless the taxpayer has opted out of this requirement in the agreement. For any taxpayer who is issued a direct payment permit, until such taxpayer makes the investment in qualified property and hires the new employees at the qualified location or locations as specified in subsection (1) of this section, the taxpayer must pay and remit any applicable sales and use taxes as required by the Tax Commissioner.(b) If the taxpayer makes the investment in qualified property and hires the new employees at the qualified location or locations as specified in subsection (1) of this section, the taxpayer shall receive the sales tax refunds described in subdivision (2)(a) of this section. For any year in which the taxpayer is not at the required levels of employment and investment, the taxpayer shall report all sales and use taxes owed for the period on the taxpayer's income tax return for the year.(4) The taxpayer shall be entitled to one of the following credits for payment of wages to new employees:(a)(i) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision;(ii) If the taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location in a county in Nebraska with a population of one hundred thousand or greater, and at which the majority of the business activities conducted are described in subdivision (1)(a) or (1)(n) of section 77-6818, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision; or(iii) If the taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location entirely within a county in Nebraska with a population of less than one hundred thousand, and at which the majority of the business activities conducted are described in subdivision (1)(a) or (1)(n) of section 77-6818, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to six percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees. For purposes of meeting the ten-employee requirement of this subdivision, the number of new employees shall be multiplied by two. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision;(b) If a taxpayer hires at least twenty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to five percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least one hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The credit shall equal seven percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The credit shall equal nine percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least two hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision;(c) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least five million dollars and hires at least thirty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to five percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least one hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The credit shall equal seven percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The credit shall equal nine percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least two hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision;(d) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty million dollars and hires at least two hundred fifty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to seven percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The credit shall equal nine percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least two hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision; or(e) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty thousand dollars but less than one million dollars and hires at least five new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location within an economic redevelopment area, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to six percent times the average wage of new employees times the number of new employees if the average wage of the new employees equals at least seventy percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. Wages in excess of one million dollars paid to any one employee during the year shall be excluded from the calculations under this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision, economic redevelopment area means an area in which (i) the average rate of unemployment in the area during the period covered by the most recent federal decennial census or American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate is at least one hundred fifty percent of the average rate of unemployment in the state during the same period and (ii) the average poverty rate in the area exceeds twenty percent for the total federal census tract or tracts or federal census block group or block groups in the area.(5) The taxpayer shall be entitled to one of the following credits for new investment:(a)(i) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations;(ii) If the taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location in a county in Nebraska with a population of one hundred thousand or greater, and at which the majority of the business activities conducted are described in subdivision (1)(a) or (1)(n) of section 77-6818, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations unless the cumulative investment exceeds ten million dollars, in which case the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to seven percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations; or(iii) If the taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least one million dollars and hires at least ten new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location entirely within a county in Nebraska with a population of less than one hundred thousand, and at which the majority of the business activities conducted are described in subdivision (1)(a) or (1)(n) of section 77-6818, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations unless the cumulative investment exceeds ten million dollars, in which case the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to seven percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations. For purposes of meeting the ten-employee requirement of this subdivision, the number of new employees shall be multiplied by two;(b) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least five million dollars and hires at least thirty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to seven percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations;(c) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty million dollars and hires at least two hundred fifty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to seven percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations; or(d) If a taxpayer attains a cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty thousand dollars but less than one million dollars and hires at least five new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period and the number of new employees and investment are at a qualified location within an economic redevelopment area, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a credit equal to four percent of the investment made in qualified property at the qualified location or locations. For purposes of this subdivision, economic redevelopment area means an area in which (i) the average rate of unemployment in the area during the period covered by the most recent federal decennial census or American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate is at least one hundred fifty percent of the average rate of unemployment in the state during the same period and (ii) the average poverty rate in the area exceeds twenty percent for the total federal census tract or tracts or federal census block group or block groups in the area.(6)(a) The credit percentages prescribed in subdivisions (4)(a), (b), (c), and (d) and subdivisions (5)(a), (b), and (c) of this section shall be increased by one percentage point for wages paid and investments made at qualified locations in an extremely blighted area. For purposes of this subdivision, extremely blighted area means an area which, before the end of the ramp-up period, has been declared an extremely blighted area under section 18-2101.02.(b) The credit percentages prescribed in subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall be increased by one percentage point if the taxpayer:(i) Is a benefit corporation as defined in section 21-403 and has been such a corporation for at least one year prior to submitting an application under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act; and(ii) Remains a benefit corporation as defined in section 21-403 for the duration of the taxpayer's agreement under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act.(c) A taxpayer may, if qualified, receive one or both of the increases provided in this subsection.(7)(a) The credits prescribed in subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall be allowable for wages paid and investments made during each year of the performance period that the taxpayer is at or above the required levels of employment and investment.(b) The credits prescribed in subsection (5) of this section shall also be allowable during the first year of the performance period for investment in qualified property at the qualified location or locations after the date of the complete application and before the beginning of the performance period.(8)(a) Property described in subdivision (8)(c) of this section used at the qualified location or locations, whether purchased or leased, and placed in service by the taxpayer after the date of the complete application, shall constitute separate classes of property and are eligible for exemption under the conditions and for the time periods provided in subdivision (8)(b) of this section.(b) A taxpayer shall receive the exemption of property in subdivision (8)(c) of this section if the taxpayer attains one of the following employment and investment levels: (i) Cumulative investment in qualified property of at least five million dollars and the hiring of at least thirty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period; (ii) cumulative investment in qualified property of at least fifty million dollars at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period, provided the average compensation of the taxpayer's employees at the qualified location or locations for the year in which such investment level was attained equals at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application and the taxpayer offers to its employees who constitute full-time employees as defined and described in section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section, at the qualified location or locations for the year in which such investment level was attained, the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan, as those terms are defined and described in section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section; or (iii) cumulative investment in qualified property of at least two hundred fifty million dollars and the hiring of at least two hundred fifty new employees at the qualified location or locations before the end of the ramp-up period. Such property shall be eligible for the exemption from the first January 1 following the end of the year during which the required levels were exceeded through the ninth December 31 after the first year property included in subdivision (8)(c) of this section qualifies for the exemption, except that for a taxpayer who has filed an application under NAICS code 518210 for Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services and who files a separate sequential application for the same NAICS code for which the ramp-up period begins with the year immediately after the end of the previous project's performance period or a taxpayer who has a project qualifying under subdivision (1)(b)(ii) of section 77-5725 and who files a separate sequential application for NAICS code 518210 for Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services for which the ramp-up period begins with the year immediately after the end of the previous project's entitlement period, such property described in subdivision (8)(c)(i) of this section shall be eligible for the exemption from the first January 1 following the placement in service of such property through the ninth December 31 after the year the first claim for exemption is approved.(c) The following personal property used at the qualified location or locations, whether purchased or leased, and placed in service by the taxpayer after the date of the complete application shall constitute separate classes of personal property:(i) All personal property that constitutes a data center if the taxpayer qualifies under subdivision (8)(b)(i) or (8)(b)(ii) of this section;(ii) Business equipment that is located at a qualified location or locations and that is involved directly in the manufacture or processing of agricultural products if the taxpayer qualifies under subdivision (8)(b)(i) or (8)(b)(ii) of this section; or(iii) All personal property if the taxpayer qualifies under subdivision (8)(b)(iii) of this section.(d) In order to receive the property tax exemptions allowed by subdivision (8)(c) of this section, the taxpayer shall annually file a claim for exemption with the Tax Commissioner on or before May 1. The form and supporting schedules shall be prescribed by the Tax Commissioner and shall list all property for which exemption is being sought under this section. A separate claim for exemption must be filed for each agreement and each county in which property is claimed to be exempt. A copy of this form must also be filed with the county assessor in each county in which the applicant is requesting exemption. The Tax Commissioner shall determine whether a taxpayer is eligible to obtain exemption for personal property based on the criteria for exemption and the eligibility of each item listed for exemption and, on or before August 1, certify such determination to the taxpayer and to the affected county assessor.(9) The taxpayer shall, on or before the receipt or use of any incentives under this section, pay to the director a fee of one-half percent of such incentives, except for the exemption on personal property, for administering the ImagiNE Nebraska Act, except that the fee on any sales tax exemption may be paid by the taxpayer with the filing of its sales and use tax return. Such fee may be paid by direct payment to the director or through withholding of available refunds. A credit shall be allowed against such fee for the amount of the fee paid with the application. All fees collected under this subsection shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the ImagiNE Nebraska Cash Fund, which fund is hereby created. The fund shall consist of fees credited under this subsection and any other money appropriated to the fund by the Legislature. The fund shall be administered by the Department of Economic Development and shall be used for administration of the ImagiNE Nebraska Act. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.Source Laws 2020, LB1107, § 31. Cross References   Local Option Revenue Act, see section 77-27,148.  Nebraska Capital Expansion Act, see section 72-1269.  Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, see section 77-2701.  Nebraska State Funds Investment Act, see section 72-1260.  Qualified Judgment Payment Act, see section 77-6401.