§ 34:1B-410 — Certifications evidencing capital investment, employment requirements were met, Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program.

8. a. Upon completion of the capital investment and employment requirements of the program, an eligible business shall submit certifications to the authority, in a form and manner prescribed by the authority, evidencing that the eligible business has satisfied the conditions relating to the capital investment and employment requirements of the project agreement, and including such supporting evidence as the authority deems necessary. The chief executive officer of the business, or an equivalent officer, shall certify that all factual representations made by the business to the authority pursuant to this subsection are true under the penalty of perjury. b. (1) In accordance with the project agreement, beginning upon the receipt of occupancy permits for any portion of the project, or upon any other event evidencing project completion as set forth in the project agreement, an eligible business shall be allowed a tax credit in an amount determined pursuant to this subsection. No more than the amount of tax credits equal to the total credit amount awarded under the program divided by the duration of the eligibility period in years may be taken in any tax period. (2) Not including any bonus awarded pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, the amount of the tax credit awarded under the program to an eligible business shall be the lesser of: (a) the product of 0.1 percent of the eligible business’s total capital investment, multiplied by the number of new full-time jobs; (b) 25 percent of the eligible business’s total capital investment; or (c) $150,000,000. (3) The authority may in its discretion establish one or more bonuses, not to exceed a total of five percent of the award approved by the authority pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, for which an eligible business may apply in a form and manner prescribed by the authority. Criteria related to the eligibility for, and approval of, such bonuses shall be established in rules and regulations adopted in accordance with section 10 of P.L.2025, c.123 (C.34:1B-412), and may include, but shall not limited to, the following: the eligible business’s qualified business facility is located in an opportunity zone eligible census tract pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s.1400Z-1; the eligible business is certified as part of the Business Certification Program administered by the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the Department of the Treasury; the eligible business has at least one active and executed collective bargaining agreement; the eligible business operates in a targeted industry or part of the supply chain for a targeted industry; and any other criteria as determined by the authority. c. (1) Commencing in the year in which the grant of tax credits is issued and for the remainder of the commitment period, an eligible business that is awarded tax credits under the program shall submit an annual report, no later than the date indicated in the project agreement, indicating whether the eligible business continues to maintain the number of new full-time jobs, and the salaries thereof, specified in the project agreement. As part of the annual report, an eligible business shall provide to the authority a copy of its applicable New Jersey tax return and the quarterly wage report required under R.S.43:21-14 submitted to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, together with an annual payroll report showing the new full-time jobs that were created in accordance with the project agreement and the new full-time jobs created during each subsequent year of the commitment period. In the annual report, an eligible business shall explain the reason, if applicable, for any discrepancies between the annual payroll report submitted by the eligible business and the quarterly wage report. The failure of an eligible business to submit the information required pursuant to this paragraph shall result in the forfeiture of the award for that year. The chief executive officer of the eligible business, or an equivalent officer, shall certify that the information provided pursuant to this paragraph is true under the penalty of perjury. Claims, records, or statements submitted by an eligible business to the authority in order to receive tax credits shall not be considered claims, records, or statements made in connection with State tax laws. (2) Upon receipt and review of each report submitted during the eligibility period, the authority shall provide to the eligible business and the director a certificate of compliance indicating the amount of tax credits that the eligible business may apply against its tax liability. The authority shall pro rate the tax credit for the first and last years of the eligibility period based on the number of full months the project was certified in the year the eligible business first certifies. d. (1) Upon receipt by the director of the certificate of compliance, the director shall allow the eligible business a tax credit. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation 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 time the business is required to maintain the project at a location in New Jersey, as set forth in the incentive 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. The tax certificate holder or transferee may carry forward an unused credit resulting from the limitations of paragraph (3) of this subsection, if necessary, for use in any of the next 10 successive tax periods, which credit shall expire thereafter. (2) The amount of credit allowed may be applied against the tax liability otherwise due pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5), sections 2 and 3 of P.L.1945, c.132 (C.54:18A-2 and C.54:18A-3), section 1 of P.L.1950, c.231 (C.17:32-15), or N.J.S.17B:23-5. (3) The director shall prescribe the order of priority of the application of the credit allowed under this section and any other credits allowed by law against the tax imposed under section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5). The amount of a credit applied under this section against the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5) for a privilege period, together with any other credits allowed by law, shall not reduce the tax liability to an amount less than the statutory minimum provided in subsection (e) of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5). e. An eligible business shall forfeit the credit amount for any tax period for which the eligible business's documentation remains uncertified as of the date for certification indicated in the project agreement, although credit amounts for the remainder of the years of the eligibility period shall remain available to the eligible business. f. If, in any tax period, the number of new employees in eligible positions, or the salaries thereof, drops below 80 percent of the number of new employees in eligible positions specified in the project agreement or the amount required as a condition of program eligibility pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2025, c.123 (C.34:1B-406), whichever is greater, then the eligible business shall forfeit all tax credits allowed for that tax period and each subsequent tax period, until the first tax period in which the authority has reviewed and approved documentation, submitted by the eligible business, demonstrating that the number of new employees in eligible positions, or the salaries thereof, is not less than 80 percent of the number specified in the project agreement or the amount required as a condition of program eligibility pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2025, c.123 (C.34:1B-406), whichever is greater. L.2025, c.123, s.8.