Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 402 CMR - ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE COORDINATING COUNCIL › Title 402 CMR 2.00 - Economic Development Incentive Program › Section 2.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				402 CMR
				2.00, the following words shall, unless the context
				clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
Business
. A private business
				corporation, partnership, firm, unincorporated association or other entity
				engaging or proposing to engage in economic activity within the Commonwealth,
				and any affiliate thereof, the income of which is subject to taxation under
				M.G.L. c. 62 or M.G.L. c. 63.
Certified Project
. A proposed project
				that has been certified by the EACC consistent with
				402 CMR
				2.05.
Control
. The power to direct the
				management and policies of a business or a facility thereof, directly or
				indirectly, through the exercise of voting rights, by contract, or
				otherwise.
Controlling Business
. A business which
				controls a business or a facility thereof; provided that in the event that the
				ownership of a business, the operation of real estate, and/or the employment of
				employees is divided among entities under a common control, then the EACC may
				treat one or more of such entities as the Controlling Business for purposes of
				402 CMR
				2.00.
Director
. The Director of the
				Massachusetts Office of Business Development.
Economic Assistance Coordinating Council or
				EACC
. The Council established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 23A, §
				3B.
Economic Development Incentive Program or
				EDIP
. A program of various economic development incentives
				established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 23A, including EDIP tax credits and local tax
				incentives to promote job creation and increased business development and
				expansion in the Commonwealth.
Economic Opportunity Area or EOA
. An
				area of the Commonwealth, located wholly within an Economic Target Area, which
				is designated as such by the EACC pursuant to
				402
				CMR 2.09.
Economic Target Area or ETA
. An area
				of the Commonwealth designated as such by the EACC pursuant to
				402
				CMR 2.09.
EDIP Tax Credits
. The tax credits
				authorized by the EACC pursuant to M.G.L. c. 23A, § 3D and claimed by a
				taxpayer pursuant to M.G.L. c. 62, § 6(g) or M.G.L. c. 63, §
				38N.
Employee
. A person who is in an
				employment relationship with an employer subject to, and within the meaning of,
				the Massachusetts unemployment insurance statute, M.G.L. c. 151A, §
				1.
Facility
. The physical location, in
				real property, which may include multiple buildings, owned or leased by a
				business of a commercial, manufacturing or industrial activity, division or
				component controlled by that business, or any real estate project which
				involves the construction or renovation of real property to serve such purpose,
				or any combination of the foregoing, at which are employed, or are projected to
				be employed, permanent full-time employees of the Controlling Business.
Full-time Employee
. An employee who
				has been paid by an employer during its taxable year an amount equal to at
				least the maximum amount of "wages" with respect to which an employer is
				required to make contributions under M.G.L. c. 151A, § 14.
Gateway Municipality
. A municipality
				with a population greater than 35,000, a median household income below the
				Commonwealth's average and educational attainment rates that are below the
				Commonwealth's average, as measured by the most recent American Community
				Survey (ACS) of the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Metropolitan Area
. A metropolitan
				statistical area (MSA) or a primary metropolitan statistical area (PSMA), as
				defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Municipal Application
. An application
				submitted by a municipality to the EACC requesting the designation of an area
				as either an ETA or an EOA, or both.
Municipality
. A city or town in the
				Commonwealth or, in a case in which two or more cities or towns are acting
				jointly hereunder, then all cities and towns participating in such joint
				effort.
Permanent Full-time Employee
. A
				full-time employee who is paid wages by a Controlling Business and who:
(a) at the inception of the employment relationship, does not
				have a termination date which is either a date certain or determined with
				reference to the completion of a specified scope of work;
(b) works at least 35 hours per week; and
(c) receives employee benefits at least equal to those provided
				to other full-time employees of the Controlling Business; provided, however,
				that "permanent full-time employee" shall not include contractors or part-time
				employees who may be included in a calculation of the Controlling Business'
				full-time equivalent workforce.
Poverty Rate
. The poverty rate, as
				defined by the Bureau of the Census, using the most recent census data
				available as of the date of submission of a municipal application.
Proposed Project
. A proposal submitted
				by a Controlling Business to the EACC for designation as a certified
				project.
Real Estate Project
. The construction,
				rehabilitation or improvement of any building or other structure on a parcel of
				real property which, when completed, will result in at least a 100% increase in
				the assessed value of the real property over the assessed value of the real
				property prior to the project.
Replacement or Relocation of Permanent Full-time
				Employees
. Any transfer and/or substitution of permanent full-time
				employees by a participating business where there is no net increase in the
				number of permanent full-time employees of the business in the Commonwealth.
Replacement or Relocation of Permanent Full-time
				Employees
shall not include any situation where there is a net
				gain in the number of permanent full-time employees of a business in the
				Commonwealth as a result of a certified project, even though certain employees
				may have moved from one facility of the business to another facility within the
				Commonwealth.
Secretary
. The Secretary of Housing
				and Economic Development.
Special Tax Assessment
. A temporary
				reduction in local real property tax authorized by M.G.L. c. 23A, §
				3E(c).
STA Agreement
. A written agreement by
				and between a municipality and an owner of real property setting forth the
				terms and conditions of a special tax assessment.
STA Parcel
. One or more parcels of
				land included in a STA agreement.
STA Project
. A commercial, industrial
				or mixed-use development project that receives the benefit of a special tax
				assessment.
Substantial Sales Outside of the
				Commonwealth
. On an annual basis, a percentage as determined by
				the EACC, of a Controlling Business's products or services generated at the
				facility are sold in the regular course of the Controlling Business's trade or
				business to customers not resident in the Commonwealth.
Tax Increment Financing
. A temporary
				reduction in local real property tax authorized by M.G.L. c. 40, § 59, and
				approved by the EACC pursuant to M.G.L. c. 23A, § 3E(b).
TIF Agreement
. A written agreement by
				and between a municipality and an owner of real property setting forth the
				terms and conditions of a proposed tax increment financing.
TIF Eligible Area
. An area of a city
				or town that has been identified through zoning, planning or other municipal
				action as a location presenting exceptional opportunities for increased
				economic development. TIF eligible areas shall include all areas zoned to allow
				industrial and commercial uses by right, and at the discretion of the city or
				town may include other areas where new growth is desirable due to availability
				of infrastructure, access to transportation networks, proximity to downtown
				areas or the need for increased employment opportunities for residents.
TIF Parcel
. One or more parcels of
				land included in a TIF agreement.
TIF Project
. A commercial, industrial
				or mixed-use development project that receives the benefit of tax increment
				financing.