Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 870 - Rhode Island Commerce Corporation › Chapter 30 - Tax Credits and Exemptions › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 2 - Rules and Regulations for the Tax Stabilization Incentive Program (870-RICR-30-00-2) › Section 870-RICR-30-00-2.5 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. The following words and terms, when used
							in these Rules, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
							indicates otherwise:
1. "Act" means R.I. Gen.
							Laws Chapter 42-64.22 known as the Tax Stabilization Incentive.
2. "Adaptive reuse" means the conversion of
							an existing structure from the use of which it was constructed to a new use by
							maintaining elements of the structure and adapting such elements to a new
							use.
3. "Affiliate" means an entity
							that directly or indirectly controls, is under common control with, or is
							controlled by a Business. Control exists in all cases in which the entity is a
							member of a controlled group of corporations as defined pursuant to § 1563
							of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. §
												1563) or the entity is an organization in a
							group of organizations under common control as defined pursuant to subsection
							(b) or (c) of § 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. §
												414). A taxpayer may establish by clear and
							convincing evidence, as determined by the tax administrator, that control
							exists in situations involving lesser percentages of ownership than required by
							those statues. An affiliate of a Business may contribute to meeting either the
							Capital Investment or Full-Time Job requirements for a grant of incentives
							under these Rules.
4. "Affordable
							housing" means housing for sale or rent with combined rental costs or combined
							mortgage loan debt service, property taxes, and required insurance that do not
							exceed thirty percent (30%) of the gross annual income of a household earning
							up to eighty percent (80%) of the Providence-Fall River, RI-MA metropolitan
							area median income, as defined annually by the United States Department of
							Housing and Urban Development.
5.
							"Applicant" means a Qualifying Community or Hope Community applying for an
							incentive under these Rules.
6.
							"Application" means the application promulgated by the Corporation, which must
							be completed and submitted by an Applicant pursuant to the requirements of the
							Act and these Rules.
7. "Business"
							means a corporation as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											44-11-1(4),
							or a partnership, an S corporation, a non-profit corporation, a sole
							proprietorship, or a limited ability corporation. A Business shall include an
							Affiliate of the Business if that Business applies for a tax stabilization
							agreement based upon any Capital Investment made by an Affiliate.
8. "Capital investment" means expenses by a
							Business or any Affiliate of the Business in a Qualified Development Project
							incurred after application for a tax stabilization agreement for:
a. site preparation and construction, repair,
							renovation, improvement, equipping, or furnishing on real property or of a
							building, structure, facility, or improvement to real property;
							and/or
b. obtaining and installing
							furnishings and machinery, apparatus, or equipment, including but not limited
							to material goods for the operation of a business on real property or in a
							building, structure, facility, or improvement to real property.
c. In addition to the foregoing, if a
							Business acquires or leases a Qualified Development Project, the capital
							investment made or acquired by the seller or owner, as the case may be, if
							pertaining primarily to the premises of the Qualified Development Project,
							shall be considered a capital investment by the Business and, if pertaining
							generally to the Qualified Development Project being acquired or leased, shall
							be allocated to the premises of the Qualified Development Project on the basis
							of the gross leasable area of the premises in relation to the total gross
							leasable area in the Qualified Development Project. The capital investment
							described herein may include any capital investment made or acquired within
							twenty-four (24) months prior to the date of Application so long as the amount
							of capital investment made or acquired by the Business, any Affiliate of the
							Business, or any owner after the date of Application equals at least fifty
							percent (50%) of the amount of capital investment, allocated to the premises of
							the Qualified Development Project being acquired or leased on the basis of the
							gross leasable area of such premises in relation to the total gross leasable
							area in the Qualified Development Project made or acquired prior to the date of
							Application.
9.
							"Certified historic structure" means a property which is located in the State
							and is:
a. listed individually on the national
							register of historic places; or
b.
							listed individually in the State register of historic places; or
c. located in a registered historic district
							and certified by either the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage
							Commission or Secretary of the Interior as being of historic significance to
							the district.
10.
							"Corporation" means the Rhode Island Corporation established pursuant to R.I.
							Gen. Laws Chapter 42-64.
11.
							"Commercial" means non-residential development.
12. "Developer" means a person, firm,
							corporation, partnership, association, political subdivision, or other entity
							that proposes to divide, divides, or causes to be divided real property into a
							subdivision or proposes to build, or builds a building or buildings or
							otherwise improves land or existing structures, which division, building, or
							improvement qualifies for benefits under this Part.
13. "Eligibility period" means the period in
							which a Qualifying Community and/or Hope Community may apply for reimbursement
							under the Act and these Rules. The eligibility period shall be subject to the
							term defined in the Qualifying Tax Stabilization Agreement granted by said
							community. The amounts subject to reimbursement shall cease upon any
							termination or cessation of the underlying Qualifying Tax Stabilization
							Agreement.
14. "Forgone tax
							revenue" means the amount of revenue that a municipality would have received
							from a Qualified Development Project had a tax stabilization agreement not been
							in place, less the amount of revenue the municipality would be expected to
							receive from that Qualified Development Project with a Qualifying Tax
							Stabilization Agreement in place; the Corporation shall have the sole
							discretion to determine the Forgone Tax Revenue for a Qualified Development
							Project.
15. "Full-time job" means
							a position for which a person is employed by a Business for consideration for a
							minimum of at least thirty-five (35) hours per week, or who renders any other
							standard of service generally accepted by custom or practice as full-time
							employment, or who is employed by a professional employer organization pursuant
							to an employee leasing agreement between the Business and the professional
							employer organization for a minimum of thirty-five (35) hours per week, or who
							renders any other standard of service generally accepted by custom or practice
							as full-time employment, and whose wages are subject to withholding.
16. "Hope community" means a municipality for
							which the five (5) year average percentage of families with income below the
							federal property level exceeds the State five (5) year average percentage, both
							as most recently reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
							Census.
17. "Project cost" means
							the costs incurred by a Developer in connection with the Qualified Development
							Project until the issuance of a permanent certificate of occupancy, or until
							such other time specified by the Corporation including, but not limited to,
							costs for lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal property or any
							interest therein, including the site, space or air rights, acquired, owned,
							developed or redeveloped, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or
							improved, and any environmental remediation costs, plus reasonable soft costs
							as determined by the Corporation, and ancillary infrastructure projects and
							infrastructure improvements, as permitted in the sole discretion of the
							Corporation.
18. "Recognized
							historical structure" means a property which is located in the State and is
							commonly considered to be of historic or cultural significance as determined by
							the Corporation in consultation with the State Historic Preservation
							Officer.
19. "Qualifying
							communities" are those municipalities within the State that are not defined as
							a Hope Community.
20. "Qualified
							development project" includes:
a.
							Rehabilitation of an existing structure where the total cost of the development
							budget exceeds fifty percent (50%) of adjusted basis in the proposed project as
							of the date that the Developer applied for a Qualifying Tax Stabilization
							Agreement; or
b. Construction of a
							new building wherein:
(1) the subject
							community has issued a tax stabilization agreement, as set forth herein and
							pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
													44-3-9 as well as other applicable rules, regulations and, procedures;
(2) construction commences within twelve (12)
							months of the subject tax stabilization agreement being approved; and
(3) completion of the proposed project occurs
							within thirty-six (36) months, subject to the approval of Qualifying or Hope
							Communities.
21. "Qualifying tax stabilization agreement"
							are those tax stabilization agreements with a minimum term of twelve (12)
							years, granted by a Qualifying and/or Hope Community in connection with a
							Qualified Development Project.
22.
							"State" means the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
23. "Workforce housing" means housing for
							sale or rent with combined rental costs or combined mortgage loan debt service,
							property taxes, and required insurance that do not exceed thirty percent (30%)
							of the gross annual income of a household earning between eighty percent (80%)
							and one hundred and forty percent (140%) of the Providence-Fall River, RI-MA
							metropolitan area median income, as defined annually by the United States
							Department of Housing and Urban Development.