Louisiana 2013 2013 Regular Session

Louisiana House Bill HB377 Introduced / Bill

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Regular Session, 2013
HOUSE BILL NO. 377
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
TAX CREDITS:  Establishes a registry for tax credits and provides relative to the period of
time to report claims or a transfer to the registry
AN ACT1
To amend and reenact R.S. 44:4.1(B)(32) and R.S. 47:6007(C)(4)(b), 6016(F)(1)(b),2
6019(A)(3)(b)(i)(cc), 6020(F)(2), 6021(I)(2), 6022(E)(1)(e)(ii), and 6034(D)(1) and3
to enact R.S. 47:1524, relative to tax credits; to establish a registry for certain tax4
credits; to provide relative to agencies required to submit information to the registry;5
to provide relative to the information which shall be recorded in the registry; to6
provide for certain requirements and limitations; to provide relative to access to7
information in the registry; to provide relative to the transferability of certain tax8
credits; to provide relative to the notification of the transfer or sale of certain tax9
credits; to provide that certain records are private; to provide for an effective date;10
and to provide for related matters.11
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:12
Section 1. R.S. 47:6007(C)(4)(b), 6016(F)(1)(b), 6019(A)(3)(b)(i)(cc), 6020(F)(2),13
6021(I)(2), 6022(E)(1)(e)(ii), and 6034(D)(1) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.14
47:1524 is hereby enacted to read as follows:15
§1524.  Tax credit registry; requirements; limitations16
A. The secretary of the Department of Revenue, hereinafter "department",17
shall establish a centralized electronic tax credit registry to compile information18
provided by state agencies which administer tax credits and shall maintain all19
information provided from all sources concerning names and addresses of the party20 HLS 13RS-397	ORIGINAL
HB NO. 377
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issued the tax credit, the amount of the tax credit, the amount of a tax credit claimed1
by a taxpayer, the tax credit's balance prior to the claim, the taxpayer's remaining tax2
credit balance after a claim, a transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, the3
transferor's remaining tax credit balance after transfer, all tax identification numbers4
for both transferor and transferee, the date of transfer, the amount transferred, price5
paid by the transferee to the transferor, and any other information useful in assisting6
the department in registering tax credits in the centralized registry.7
B. Each tax credit issued by a state agency shall be assigned a unique8
identifying number when inputted in the registry.  This number shall remain9
associated with the tax credit from the time the tax credit is originally entered into10
the registry, through any claim, transfer, or refund associated with the credit, until11
the time the tax credit is fully redeemed. All transfers of the tax credit and all claims12
against the tax credit shall be recorded and tracked through the registry. The13
department shall be the only authorized party to enter information into the registry14
and shall be the only party authorized to make changes in the registry to any new or15
existing tax credits.16
C.(1) Beginning September 1, 2013, in order for any tax credit issued on or17
after such date to be eligible for use by a taxpayer or transfer by the taxpayer it shall18
be entered into the registry.  Any transfer or claim against a tax credit shall be19
registered no later than ten business days from the date of transfer, claim, or refund20
of the tax credit.  Only properly registered credits shall be eligible for transfer.  It21
shall be the responsibility of the transferor to ensure that credits are properly22
registered prior to transfer.23
(2)(a) Any state agency which issued tax credits prior to September 1, 2013,24
shall remit any and all information the agency retained regarding the owner of the25
tax credit, the amount of the tax credit, and any information regarding subsequent26
owners, claims, or transfers of the tax credit to the department for entry into the27
registry.28 HLS 13RS-397	ORIGINAL
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(b)  The owner of any tax credit issued prior to September 1, 2013, shall be1
required to remit all necessary information to the department or to the state agency2
which issued the original credit for entry into the centralized registry established3
pursuant to the provisions of this Section.  Any state agency which receives4
information from the owner of a tax credit shall remit such information to the5
department within ten business days of receipt of such information.  Failure of an6
owner to remit such information to the department or to the state agency which7
issued the original credit shall result in the credit being deemed ineligible for transfer8
and shall be subject to recapture by the department.9
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the data10
compiled in the registry shall be available for cross-referencing by other state11
agencies; however, state agencies shall apply for access to the registry from the12
department and shall be subject to permissions granted by the department.13
Information contained in the registry regarding the ownership of a tax credit and the14
value of a tax credit shall be deemed personal and confidential under the provisions15
of R.S. 47:1508 and shall not be available for public viewing.16
E. The secretary of the department may promulgate rules and regulations in17
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act as are necessary to implement the18
provisions of this Section, including but not limited to rules and regulations19
regarding the information required for registering tax credits, information required20
for transferring tax credits, establishing access privileges to information in the21
registry for other state agencies and third parties, and information which shall be22
deemed public and information which shall be deemed private.23
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§6007.  Motion picture investor tax credit25
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C.  Investor tax credit; specific productions and projects.27
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(4) Transferability of the credit.  Any motion picture tax credits not1
previously claimed by any taxpayer against its income tax may be transferred or sold2
to another Louisiana taxpayer or to the office, subject to the following conditions:3
*          *          *4
(b) Transferors and transferees shall submit to the office, and to the5
Department of Revenue in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits6
within thirty ten business days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits.  The7
notification shall include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, a copy8
of any tax credit certification letter(s) issued by the office and the secretary of the9
Department of Economic Development and, the transferor's remaining tax credit10
balance after transfer, all tax identification numbers for both transferor and11
transferee, the date of transfer, the amount transferred, a copy of the credit12
certificate, price paid by the transferee to the transferor, in the case when the13
transferor is a state-certified production, for the tax credits, and any other14
information required by the office or the Department of Revenue. For the purpose15
of reporting transfer prices, the term "transfer" shall include allocations pursuant to16
Paragraph (2) of this Subsection as provided by rule.  The office may post on its17
website an average tax credit transfer value, as determined by the office and the18
secretary of the Department of Economic Development to reflect adequately the19
current average tax credit transfer value. The tax credit transfer value means the20
percentage as determined by the price paid by the transferee to the transferor divided21
by the dollar value of the tax credits that were transferred in return. The notification22
submitted to the office shall include a processing fee of up to two hundred dollars per23
transferee, and any pricing information submitted by a transferor or transferee shall24
be treated by the office and the Department of Revenue as proprietary to the entity25
reporting such information and therefore confidential.  However, this shall not26
prevent the publication of summary data that includes no fewer than three27
transactions.28
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§6016.  New markets tax credit1
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F.(1) Any tax credits not previously claimed by any taxpayer against its3
income or franchise tax may be transferred or sold to another Louisiana taxpayer,4
subject to the following conditions:5
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(b) Transferors and transferees shall submit to the Department of Revenue7
in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits within thirty ten8
business days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits.  The notification shall9
include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, the transferor's remaining10
tax credit balance after transfer, all tax identification numbers for both transferor and11
transferee, the date of transfer, the amount transferred, a copy of the credit certificate12
price paid by the transferee to the transferor, and any other information required by13
the Department of Revenue. The notification submitted shall include a processing14
fee of up to two hundred dollars per transferee.15
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§6019.  Tax credit; rehabilitation of historic structures17
A.18
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(3)20
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(b)(i)22
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(cc) Transferors and transferees shall submit to the state historic preservation24
office and to the Department of Revenue in writing a notification of any transfer or25
sale of tax credits within thirty ten business days after the transfer or sale of such tax26
credits.  The notification shall include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to27
transfer, the credit identification number assigned by the state historic preservation28
office, the remaining balance after transfer, all federal and Louisiana tax29 HLS 13RS-397	ORIGINAL
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identification numbers for both transferor and transferee, the date of transfer, the1
amount transferred, and any other information required by the state historic2
preservation office or the Department of Revenue.  Failure to comply with this3
notification provision will result in the disallowance of the tax credit until the parties4
are in full compliance.5
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§6020.  Angel Investor Tax Credit Program7
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F. Transferability of the credit.  Any Angel Investor Tax Credits not9
previously claimed by any taxpayer against its tax may be transferred or sold to10
another Louisiana taxpayer, subject to the following conditions:11
*          *          *12
(2) Transferors and transferees shall submit to the department and the13
Department of Revenue in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits14
within thirty ten business days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits.  The15
notification shall include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, a copy16
of any tax credit certificate issued by the secretary of the Department of Economic17
Development and, the transferor's remaining tax credit balance after transfer, all tax18
identification numbers for both transferor and transferee, the date of transfer, the19
amount transferred, the price paid by the transferee to the transferor, and any other20
information required by the department or the Department of Revenue. Any pricing21
information submitted by a transferor or transferee shall be treated by the department22
and the Department of Revenue as proprietary to the entity reporting such23
information and therefore confidential. However, this shall not prevent the24
publication of summary data that includes no fewer than three transactions.25
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§6021.  Brownfields Investor Tax Credit27
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I. Transferability of the credit. Any tax credits provided for in this Section1
not previously claimed by any taxpayer against its income tax may be transferred or2
sold to another Louisiana taxpayer, subject to the following conditions:3
*          *          *4
(2)  Transferors and transferees shall submit to the Department of Revenue5
in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits within thirty ten6
business days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits. The notification shall7
include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, a copy of any tax credit8
certification letter(s) issued by the Department of Environmental Quality, the name9
of the state-certified site, the transferor's remaining tax credit balance after transfer,10
all tax identification numbers for both transferor and transferee, the date of transfer,11
the amount transferred, a copy of the credit certificate, price paid by the transferee12
to the transferor, for the tax credits, and any other information required by the13
Department of Revenue. For the purpose of reporting transfer prices, the term14
"transfer" shall include allocations pursuant to R.S. 47:6007(C)(3) as provided by15
rule.16
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§6022.  Digital interactive media and software tax credit18
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E.  Use of tax credits20
(1) For tax credits earned for expenditures made on or before December 31,21
2011:22
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(e) Any tax credits allocated to a person and not previously claimed by any24
taxpayer against his Louisiana state income or franchise tax may be transferred or25
sold by such person to another person, subject to the following conditions:26
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(ii) Transferors and transferees shall submit to the office and Department of28
Revenue in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits within thirty29 HLS 13RS-397	ORIGINAL
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ten business days after the transfer or sale of such tax credits. The notification shall1
include the transferor's tax credit balance prior to transfer, the state-certified2
production number, the name of the state-certified production, the transferor's3
remaining tax credit balance after transfer, all tax identification numbers for both4
transferor and transferee, the date of transfer, the amount transferred, a copy of the5
tax credit certificate, and any other information required by the office or the6
Department of Revenue.7
*          *          *8
§6034.  Musical and theatrical production income tax credit9
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D.(1) The credit shall be allowed against individual or corporate income tax11
of the companies or financiers of the production or infrastructure project in12
accordance with their share of the credit as provided for in the application for13
certification for the production or infrastructure project.  A company or financier14
may on a one-time basis, transfer the credit, and/or or any refund of an overpayment,15
to an individual or other entity including without limitation a bank or other lender,16
provided that the transfer shall not be effective until receipt by the Department of17
Revenue of written notice of such transfer.  Transferors and transferees shall submit18
to the Department of Revenue in writing, a notification of any transfer of the tax19
credit within ten business days after the transfer. The credit shall be allowed for the20
taxable period in which expenditures eligible for a credit are expended. Any excess21
of the credit over the income tax liability against which the credit may be applied22
shall constitute an overpayment, as defined in R.S. 47:1621(A), and the secretary of23
the Department of Revenue shall make a refund of such overpayment from the24
current collections of the taxes imposed by Chapter 1 of Subtitle II of this Title, as25
amended. The right to a refund of any such overpayment shall not be subject to the26
requirements of R.S. 47:1621(B).27
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Section 2.  R.S. 44:4.1(B)(32) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:1
§4.1.  Exceptions2
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B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions,4
and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised5
statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and6
limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by7
citation:8
*          *          *9
(32) R.S. 47:15, 349, 633.6, 1508, 1515.3, 1516, 1524(D), 1837, 2130, 2327,10
2605, 6026, 900611
*          *          *12
Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not13
signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature14
by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana.  If15
vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become16
effective on the day following such approval.17
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent.  [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Leger	HB No. 377
Abstract: Requires the Dept. of Revenue to establish a tax credit registry to track transfers,
claims, and refunds of tax credits and changes the time for reporting transfers of
various tax credits from 30 days to 10 business days.
Proposed law requires the secretary of the Dept. of Revenue, hereinafter "department", to
establish a centralized electronic tax credit registry to compile information provided by state
agencies which administer tax credits and to maintain all information provided for the
registry.
Proposed law requires each tax credit to be assigned a unique identifying number when
inputted in the registry.  This number shall remain associated with the tax credit from the
time the tax credit is originally entered into the registry, through any claim, transfer, or
refund associated with the credit, until the time the tax credit is fully redeemed.  Proposed
law requires all transfers of the tax credit and all claims against the tax credit to be recorded
and tracked through the registry. HLS 13RS-397	ORIGINAL
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are additions.
Proposed law provides that the department is the only authorized party to enter information
into the registry or to make changes in the registry to any new or existing tax credits.
Proposed law provides that in order for any tax credit issued on or after Sept. 1, 2013, to be
eligible for transfer by a taxpayer it shall be entered into the registry.  Further requires
transfers or claims against tax credits to be registered no later than 10 business days within
the date of transfer, claim, or refund of the tax credit.  Proposed law provides that only
properly registered credits shall be eligible for transfer. 
Proposed law requires any state agency which issued tax credits prior to Sept. 1, 2013, to
remit any and all information the agency retained regarding the tax credit to the department
for entry into the registry.  The owner of a tax credit issued prior to Sept. 1, 2013, shall be
required to remit all necessary information to the department or to the state agency which
issued the original credit for entry into the centralized registry.  Failure of an owner to remit
such information shall result in the credit being deemed ineligible for transfer and shall be
subject to recapture by the department.
Proposed law authorizes information compiled in the registry to be available for cross-
referencing by other state agencies; however, state agencies shall apply for access to the
registry from the department and shall be subject to permissions granted by the department.
Information contained in the registry regarding the ownership of a tax credit and the value
of a tax credit shall be deemed personal and confidential and shall not be available for public
viewing, including a public records request.
Proposed law authorizes the department to promulgate rules and regulations as are necessary
to implement the provisions of proposed law.
Present law provides for various tax credit programs including but not limited to the motion
picture investor, new markets, rehabilitation of historic structures, Angel Investor,
Brownfields Investor, digital interactive media and software, and musical and theatrical
production tax credits.  Present law requires, in cases of transferable tax credits, for the
transferor and the transferee to submit to the agency administering the tax credit and the
department written notification of the transfer or sale of the tax credit within 30 days of the
transfer.  Proposed law retains present law but changes the period of written notification
from 30 days of the transfer or sale of the credit to 10 business days of the transfer or sale
of the credit.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 44:4.1(B)(32) and R.S. 47:6007(C)(4)(b), 6016(F)(1)(b), 6019(A)(3)(b)(i)(cc),
6020(F)(2), 6021(I)(2), 6022(E)(1)(e)(ii), and 6034(D)(1); Adds R.S. 47:1524)