§ 34:1B-120 — Certificate of compliance indicating amount of tax credits; elect to waive requirement, minimum employee time, criteria.

9. a. As determined by the authority, a business which is awarded a grant of tax credits under P.L.1996, c.25 (C.34:1B-112 et seq.) shall submit annually, no later than March 1st of each year, commencing in the year in which the grant of tax credits is issued and for the remainder of the commitment duration, a certificate of compliance that indicates that the business continues to maintain the number of retained full-time jobs as specified in the project agreement. Upon receipt and review thereof during the tax credit term, the authority shall issue a certificate of compliance indicating the amount of tax credits that the business may apply against liability pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2004, c.65 (C.34:1B-115.3). Any reduction in the number of retained full-time jobs below the number prescribed under the terms of the project agreement shall proportionately reduce the amount of tax credits the business may apply against liability in that tax period and the credits that may no longer be applied for that tax period shall be forfeited. However, if in any tax period, the number of retained full-time jobs drops below the minimum number of retained full-time jobs indicated in the paragraph of subsection b. of section 7 of P.L.2004, c.65 (C.34:1B-115.3) pursuant to which the project agreement was executed such that the business would no longer be eligible to apply the credits for the number of years for which it was approved, then the authority shall reduce the amount of tax credits the business may apply against liability and the number of years in which the business may apply the tax credits. The grant shall be subject to recapture provisions pursuant to the project agreement. b. Following the termination of the public health emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to Executive Order No. 103 of 2020, as extended, a business that has entered into an incentive agreement may elect, before March 31, 2024, to waive, for the period beginning on July 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2024, the requirement that a full-time employee who is employed by the business shall spend at least 60 percent of the employee's time at the qualified business facility; provided, however, that a business that makes such an election shall satisfy the following criteria: (1) any full-time employee employed by the business shall spend at least 10 percent of the employee's time at the qualified business facility for the 2023 tax period and, if elected by the business, the 2024 tax period through March 31, 2024; and (2) following the receipt by the business of its tax credit certificate or tax credit transfer certificate for the 2022 tax period, the business shall make a payment of an amount equal to five percent of the amount of tax credit the business receives for the 2022 tax period through March 31, 2024, which payment shall be made to the authority, and which payment the authority shall hold and make available for the provision of loans, guarantees, equity investments, and grants, or other forms of financing to support small business and downtown or commercial corridor activation activities within the municipality in which the qualified business facility is located, as may be designated by the chief executive officer of the authority. Such funds shall be deployed by the authority within 12 months of the authority's receipt of the funds, and the authority shall issue a report each fiscal year to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), detailing how the funds were distributed. c. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1996, c.25 (C.34:1B-113) or any other law or regulation to the contrary, beginning on April 1, 2024, and for all subsequent tax periods, a business located outside an enhanced area or government-restricted municipality, as those terms are defined in section 69 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-337), that has entered into an incentive agreement with the authority may elect to waive the requirement that a full-time employee who is employed by the business shall spend at least 60 percent of the employee's time at the qualified business facility, provided, however, that a business that makes this election shall satisfy the following criteria: (1) for a qualified business facility located outside an enhanced area or government-restricted municipality, as those terms are defined in section 69 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-337), any full-time employee employed by the business shall spend at least 40 percent of the employee's time at the qualified business facility during the tax period; (2) the business shall extend by two years the term of its commitment duration beyond the time set forth in the project agreement; and (3) at the time the business submits its tax credit certificate certification for the tax period, the business shall make a non-refundable payment of an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the maximum annual tax credit that the business is eligible to receive for the tax period, which payment shall be made to the authority and which payment the authority shall hold and make available for the provision of loans, guarantees, equity investments, and grants or other forms of financing to support small business and downtown or commercial corridor activation activities within enhanced areas or government-restricted municipalities, as those terms are defined in section 69 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-337), as may be designated by the chief executive officer of the authority. Such funds shall be deployed by the authority within 12 months of the authority's receipt of the funds, and the authority shall issue a report each fiscal year to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), detailing how the funds were distributed. d. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the credit amount may first be taken by the tax certificate holder for the tax period for which it was issued, for the tax period in which it was issued, or in any tax period during the commitment duration set forth in the project agreement. The tax certificate holder may transfer the tax credit amount on or after the date of issuance for use by the transferee in the tax period for which it was issued, for the tax period in which it was issued, or in any of the next three successive tax periods. The tax certificate holder or transferee may first use the credit against tax liabilities in the tax period in which it was issued or in a succeeding tax period, as authorized in this subsection, without the need for amending the tax return for the tax period for which the credit was issued, subject to the provisions of this section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no more than the amount of tax credits equal to the total credit amount, divided by the duration of the tax credit term, in years, may be taken in any tax period. L.1996, c.25, s.9; amended 2004, c.65, s.13; 2010, c.123, s.12; 2022, c.134, s.1; 2023, c.261, s.1; 2024, c.40, s.1.