Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 870 - Rhode Island Commerce Corporation › Chapter 30 - Tax Credits and Exemptions › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 4 - Rules and Regulations for the Rhode Island Qualified Jobs Incentive Act of 2015 › Section 870-RICR-30-00-4.5 - 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 44-48.3 known as the Rhode Island Qualified Jobs Incentive Act of
							2015.
2. "Affiliate" means an
							entity that directly or indirectly controls, is under common control with, or
							is controlled by the Applicant. Control exists in all cases in which the entity
							is a member of an affiliated group of corporations as defined pursuant to
							§ 1504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. §
												1504) 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(b) or (c)). An
							Affiliate or an Applicant may establish by clear and convincing evidence, as
							determined by the Corporation, that control exists in situations involving
							lesser percentages of ownership that required by those statutes. An Affiliate
							of the Applicant may contribute to meeting Full-Time Employee requirements of
							an Applicant that applies for a Tax Credit under the Act and these
							Rules.
3. "Allocation agreement"
							means an executed agreement among all Participants of a Pass-Through Entity
							setting forth the method for allocation of the Tax Credit agreed upon among the
							Participants. An Allocation Agreement may include, without limitation, a
							partnership agreement, an operating agreement of a limited liability company, a
							shareholders agreement, or any other instrument executed by all
							Participants.
4. "Annual
							certification" means the document issued annually to an Applicant certifying to
							the Tax Division the amount of the Tax Credit and taxable year in which such
							credit may be claimed, and such other information deemed appropriate by the
							Corporation.
5. "Applicant" means a
							Business applying for a Tax Credit under the Act and 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. "Assignee" means a Person to whom a Tax
							Credit Certificate is assigned pursuant to these Rules.
8. "Assignor" means a holder of a Tax Credit
							Certificate who assigns such Tax Credit Certificate to an Assignee.
9. "Board" means the board of directors of
							the Corporation.
10. "Business"
							means a corporation, state bank, federal savings bank, trust company, national
							banking association, bank holding company, loan and investment company, mutual
							savings bank, credit union, building and loan association, insurance company,
							investment company, broker-dealer company or surety company, limited liability
							company, partnership or sole proprietorship qualified to do business in the
							State.
11. "Capital investment"
							means expenses for: site preparation and construction, repair, renovation.
							Improvement, equipping, or furnishing on real property or of a building,
							structure, facility, or improvement to real property, including reasonable
							associated soft costs and the reasonable costs of relocating any former
							tenants; obtaining and installing furnishings and machinery, apparatus, or
							equipment, including as permitted in the sole discretion of the Corporation,
							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; site-related utility and transportation infrastructure improvements
							including on- and off-site utility, road, pier, wharf, bulkhead or sidewalk
							construction or repair; plantings or other environmental components require to
							attain the level of silver rating or above in the Leadership in Energy and
							Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System; and environmental
							remediation of the Project site.
12. "Corporation" means the Rhode Island
							Commerce Corporation established pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
							42-64.
13. "Commitment period"
							means the period of time that at a minimum is twenty percent (20%) longer than
							the Eligibility Period.
14.
							"Economically fragile industry" means manufacturing and such other industries
							identified in the economic development vision and policy promulgated pursuant
							R.I. Gen. Laws §
											42-64.17-1 as economically fragile or, until such time as any such economic development
							vision and policy is promulgated, as identified by the Corporation from
							time-to-time and published on the Corporation's website. Retail shall not be an
							economically fragile industry.
15.
							"Eligibility period" means the period in which a Business may claim a Tax
							Credit under the Act, beginning at the end of the tax period in which the
							Corporation issues a Certification for the Business that it has met the
							employment requirements of the Act and extending thereafter for a term of not
							more than ten (10) years.
16.
							"Eligible position" or "Full-Time job" means a full-time position in a Business
							which has been filled with a Full-Time Employee who earns no less than the
							median hourly wage as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
							for the State, provided, that for Economically Fragile Industries, the
							Corporation may reduce the wage threshold.
17. "Full-Time employee" means a natural
							person who is employed in the State by a Business for consideration for at
							least thirty-five (35) hours a week, or who is employed in the State by a
							professional employer organization pursuant to an employee leasing agreement
							between the Business and the professional employer organization for at least
							thirty-five (35) hours a week, and whose wages are subject to
							withholding.
18. "Hope community"
							means a municipality with a percentage of families below the poverty level that
							is greater than the percentage of families below the poverty level for the
							state as a whole as determined by the United State Census Bureau's most recent
							American Community Survey.
19.
							"Incentive agreement" means the contract between the Applicant and the
							Corporation that sets forth the terms and conditions under which the Applicant
							shall be eligible to receive the incentives authorized pursuant to the
							Act.
20. "Incentive effective date"
							means the date the Corporation issues a certification for issuance of a Tax
							Credit.
21. "Industrial design"
							means the profession of designing products to optimize the function, value, and
							appearance for the benefit of the user of the product and/or the manufacturer
							or creator of the product.
22.
							"Initial certificate holder" means an Applicant or Participant named by the
							Applicant to receive the Tax Credit Certificate.
23. "Letter of good standing" means a letter
							from the Division of Taxation certifying that the taxpayer is in good standing
							for purposes of these Rules; a taxpayer shall be entitled to a letter of good
							standing so long as
a. the taxpayer is
							current on all outstanding filings and declared tax liabilities subject to
							audit;
b. the taxpayer and the
							Division of Taxation have a workout payment agreement or other settlement with
							respect to any known delinquent tax liability and the taxpayer is current on
							that workout payment agreement or settlement; or
c. the taxpayer has timely commenced or is
							engaged in an administrative or judicial proceeding concerning a tax liability
							the status of which would otherwise preclude the issuance of a letter of good
							standing;
24. "New
							full-time job" means an Eligible Position created by the Applicant that did not
							previously exist in the State. The term "New Full-Time Job" does not include a
							position that is the result of an acquisition of an existing company located in
							the State by purchase, merger, or otherwise; or a position that is or was
							already located in the State regardless of the taxpayer for whom the individual
							performed services. For the purposes of determining the number of new Full-Time
							Jobs, the Eligible Positions of an Affiliate shall be considered Eligible
							Positions of the Applicant.
25.
							"Notification of assignment" means the notification filed with the Division of
							Taxation of the assignment of all or a portion a Tax Credit.
26. "Participant" means a partnership, member
							of a limited liability company, shareholder of an S-corporation, beneficial
							owner of a trust, or any other Person having an interest in a Pass-Through
							Entity.
27. "Partnership" means an
							entity classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
28. "Pass-Through entity" means a
							partnership, limited liability company, S-corporation, association, nominee
							trust, or any other entity, the tax attributes of which are passed through to
							the Participants in such entity.
29. "Percentage interest" means the
							Percentage Interest in the Tax Credit allocated to a Participant or another
							Person pursuant to the terms of the applicable Allocation Agreement.
30. "Person" means any natural person,
							partnership, firm, corporation, (including both business and non-profit
							corporations), limited liability company, trust, estate, association, or other
							business entity.
31. "Related
							company" means any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control
							with an Applicant.
32. "Scientific
							research and development" means conducting research and experimental
							development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences, including but not
							limited to agriculture, electronics, biology, botany, biotechnology, computers,
							chemistry, food, fisheries, forests, geology, health, manufacturing,
							mathematics, medicine, oceanography, pharmacy, physics, veterinary, and other
							allied subjects.
33. "State" means
							the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
34. "Targeted industry" means any advanced,
							promising or otherwise prioritized industry identified in the economic
							development vision and policy promulgated pursuant R.I. Gen. Laws §
											42-64.17-1 or, until such time as any such economic development vision and policy is
							promulgated, as identified by the Corporation from time-to-time and published
							on the Corporation's website.
35.
							"Tax administrator" means the individual within the Rhode Island Department of
							Revenue as described in R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 44-1.
36. "Tax credit" means a tax credit granted
							under the Act.
37. "Tax credit
							award request form" shall mean the form published from time to time by the Tax
							Division to be filed by an Applicant with the Tax Division together with the
							Certification issued by the Corporation.
38. "Tax credit certificate" or "Certificate"
							means a certificate issued by the Tax Division to the Applicant who has
							received an Annual Certification from the Corporation substantiating compliance
							with an Incentive Agreement and entitlement to the issuance of Tax Credits
							under the Act. If the Applicant is a Pass-Through Entity, a Tax Credit
							Certificate may be issued to each Participant in the Pass-Through Entity. The
							Certificate shall specify the amount of the Tax Credit allocable to such
							Participant, determined pursuant to these Rules.
39. "Tax division" means the Rhode Island
							Division of Taxation.
40.
							"Taxpayer" means the Applicant granted a Tax Credit under this chapter or such
							person entitled to the Tax Credit because the Business is a Pass-Through
							Entity.
41. "Transit oriented
							development area" means either of:
a. an area
							that the Corporation, after consultation with the Rhode Island Department of
							Transportation and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, designates as a
							Transit Oriented Development Area because it supports, or has the potential to
							support, development that is in close proximity to, compatible with, and
							supporting of public transit; such discretionary designation can occur in
							response to an Application for an incentive under the Act or in a request
							submitted by a municipality to the Corporation in a form prescribed by the
							Corporation on its website; or
b. an
							area with ready access to freight rail, air, and/or marine transportation where
							manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and freight forwarding operations are
							or could be located.