§ 7-2A-16 — Intergovernmental business tax credit

A. With respect to the net income of a taxpayer engaged in the transaction of business occurring after July 1, 1997 from a new business on Indian land, the person who is liable for the payment of the corporate income tax may claim a credit as provided in Subsection D of this section against the corporate income tax for the aggregate amount of tax paid to an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo located in whole or in part within New Mexico. B. The credit provided by this section may be referred to as the "intergovernmental business tax credit". C. As used in this section: (1) "aggregate amount of tax" means the total of all taxes imposed by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo located in whole or in part in New Mexico on income derived from the new business's activity on Indian land, except a tax shall not be included in that total if the tax is eligible for a credit pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-29C-1 NMSA 1978 or any other intergovernmental tax credit that provides a similar tax credit; (2) "Indian land" means all land in New Mexico that on March 1, 1997 was: (a) within the exterior boundaries of an Indian reservation or pueblo grant; or (b) lands held in trust by the United States for an individual Indian nation, tribe or pueblo; (3) "new business" means a manufacturer or processor that occupies a new business facility or a grower that commences operation in New Mexico on or after July 1, 1997; and (4) "new business facility" means a facility on Indian land that satisfies the following requirements: (a) the facility is employed by the taxpayer in the operation of a revenue- producing enterprise. The facility shall not be considered a "new business facility" in the hands of the taxpayer if the taxpayer's only activity with respect to the facility is to lease it to another person; (b) the facility is acquired by or leased to the taxpayer on or after January 1, 1997. The facility shall be deemed to have been acquired by or leased to the taxpayer on or after the specified date if the transfer of title to the taxpayer, the transfer of possession pursuant to a binding contract to transfer title to the taxpayer or the commencement of the term of the lease to the taxpayer occurs on or after that date or if the facility is constructed, erected or installed by or on behalf of the taxpayer, the construction, erection or installation is completed on or after that date; (c) the facility is a newly acquired facility in which the taxpayer is not continuing the operation of the same or a substantially identical revenue-producing enterprise that previously was in operation on the Indian land of the Indian nation, tribe or pueblo where the facility is now located; a facility is a "newly acquired facility" if the facility was acquired or leased by the taxpayer from another person even if the facility was employed in a revenue-producing enterprise on the Indian land of the same Indian nation, tribe or pueblo immediately prior to the transfer of the title to the facility to the taxpayer or immediately prior to the commencement of the term of the lease of the facility to the taxpayer by another person provided that the revenue-producing enterprise of the previous occupant was not the same or substantially identical to the taxpayer's revenue-producing enterprise; and (d) the facility is not a replacement business facility for a business facility that existed on the Indian land of the Indian nation, tribe or pueblo where the business is now located. D. The intergovernmental business tax credit shall be determined separately for each reporting period and shall be equal to fifty percent of the lesser of: (1) the aggregate amount of tax paid by a taxpayer; or (2) the amount of the taxpayer's corporate income tax due for the reporting period from the new business's activity conducted on Indian land. E. The department shall administer and interpret the provisions of this section in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Administration Act [Chapter 7, Article 1 NMSA 1978]. F. The burden of showing entitlement to a credit authorized by this section is on the taxpayer claiming it, and the taxpayer shall furnish to the appropriate tax collecting agency, in the manner determined by the department, proof of payment of the aggregate amount of tax on which the credit is based. G. For a taxpayer qualifying for the credit provided by this section that conducts business in New Mexico both on and off Indian land, the taxpayer's corporate income tax liability derived from the new business activity conducted on Indian land shall be equal to the sum of the products of one-half of the taxpayer's New Mexico corporate income tax liability before application of the credit provided by this section multiplied by the payroll factor and one-half of the taxpayer's New Mexico corporate income tax liability before application of the credit provided by this section multiplied by the property factor. The factors shall be determined as follows: (1) the payroll factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of compensation paid to employees employed during the tax period by the taxpayer in his new business on Indian land, and the denominator of which is the total amount of compensation paid to employees employed during the tax period by the taxpayer in all of New Mexico, including Indian land; and (2) the property factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the average value of the taxpayer's real and tangible personal property owned or rented and used in the new business on Indian land in New Mexico during the tax period and the denominator of which is the average value of all the taxpayer's real and tangible property owned or rented and used in New Mexico, including on Indian land, during the tax period.

Legislative History

Laws 1997, ch. 58, § 1.