§ 32.38 — The recovery tax credit program

New York § 32.38

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law MHY: Mental Hygiene
• Title E: General Provisions
• Art. 32: Regulation and Quality Control of Chemical Dependence Services and Compulsive Gambling Services

Text

§ 32.38 The recovery tax credit program.\n (a) Authorization. The commissioner is authorized to and shall\nestablish and administer the recovery tax credit program to provide tax\nincentives to certified employers for employing eligible individuals in\nrecovery from a substance use disorder in part-time and full-time\npositions in the state. The commissioner is authorized to allocate up to\ntwo million dollars of tax credits annually for the recovery tax credit\nprogram beginning in the year two thousand twenty.\n (b) Definitions. 1. The term "certified employer" means an employer\nthat has received a certificate of tax credit from the commissioner\nafter the commissioner has determined that the employer:\n (i) provides a recovery supportive environment for their employees\nevidenced by a formal working relationship with a local recovery or\ntreatment provider certified by the office to provide support for\nemployers including any necessary assistance in the hiring process of\neligible individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder and\ntraining for employers or supervisors; and\n (ii) fulfills the eligibility criteria set forth in this section and\nby the commissioner to participate in the recovery tax credit program\nestablished in this section.\n 2. The term "eligible individual" means an individual with a substance\nuse disorder as that term is defined in section 1.03 of this chapter who\nis in a state of wellness where there is an abatement of signs and\nsymptoms that characterize active addiction and has demonstrated to the\nqualified employer's satisfaction, pursuant to guidelines established by\nthe office, that he or she has completed a course of treatment or is\ncurrently in receipt of treatment for such substance use disorder. A\nrelapse in an individual's state of wellness shall not make the\nindividual ineligible, so long as such individual shows a continued\ncommitment to recovery that aligns with an individual's relapse\nprevention plan, discharge plan, and/or recovery plan.\n (c) Application and approval process. 1. To participate in the program\nestablished by this section, an employer must, in a form prescribed by\nthe commissioner, apply annually to the office by January fifteenth to\nclaim credit based on eligible individuals employed during the preceding\ncalendar year. As part of such application, an employer must:\n (i) Agree to allow the department of taxation and finance to share its\ntax information with the office of alcoholism and substance abuse\nservices. However, any information shared because of this agreement\nshall not be available for disclosure or inspection under the state\nfreedom of information law.\n (ii) Allow the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services and\nits agents access to limited and specific information necessary to\nmonitor compliance with program eligibility requirements. Such\ninformation shall be confidential and only used for the stated purpose\nof this section.\n (iii) Demonstrate that the employer has satisfied program eligibility\nrequirements and provided all the information necessary, including the\nnumber of hours worked by any eligible individual, for the commissioner\nto compute an actual amount of credit allowed.\n 2. (i) After reviewing the application and finding it sufficient, the\ncommissioner shall issue a certificate of tax credit by March\nthirty-first. Such certificate shall include, but not be limited to, the\nname and employer identification number of the certified employer, the\namount of credit that the certified employer may claim, and any other\ninformation the commissioner of taxation and finance determines is\nnecessary.\n (ii) In determining the amount of credit that any employer may claim,\nthe commissioner shall review all claims submitted for credit by\nemployers and, to the extent that the total amount claimed by employers\nexceeds the amount allocated for the program in that calendar year,\nshall issue credits on a pro-rata basis corresponding to each claimant's\nshare of the total claimed amount.\n (d) Eligibility. A certified employer shall be entitled to a tax\ncredit equal to the product of one dollar and the number of hours worked\nby each eligible individual during such eligible individual's period of\nemployment. The credit shall not be allowed unless the eligible\nindividual has worked in state for a minimum of five hundred hours for\nthe certified employer, and the credit cannot exceed two thousand\ndollars per eligible individual employed by the certified employer in\nthe state. The certified employer may claim a credit for each eligible\nemployee starting on the day the employee is hired and ends on December\nthirty-first of the immediately succeeding calendar year or the last day\nof the employee's employment by the certified employer, whichever comes\nfirst. If an employee has worked in excess of five hundred hours between\nthe date of hiring and December thirty-first of that year, an employer\ncan elect to compute and claim a credit for such employee in that year\nbased on the hours worked by December thirty-first. Alternatively, the\nemployer may elect to include such individual in the computation of the\ncredit in the year immediately succeeding the year in which the employee\nwas hired. In such case, the credit shall be computed on the basis of\nall hours worked by such eligible individual from the date of hire to\nthe earlier of the last day of employment or December thirty-first of\nthe succeeding year. However, in no event may an employee generate\ncredit for hours worked in excess of two thousand hours. An employer may\nclaim credit only once with respect to any eligible individual and may\nnot aggregate hours of two or more employees to reach the minimum number\nof hours.\n (e) Duties of the commissioner. The commissioner shall annually\nprovide to the commissioner of the department of taxation and finance\ninformation about the program including, but not limited to, the number\nof certified employers then participating in the program, unique\nidentifying information for each certified employer, the number of\neligible individuals employed by each certified employer, unique\nidentifying information for each eligible individual employed by the\ncertified employers, the number of hours worked by such eligible\nindividuals, the total dollar amount of claims for credit, and the\ndollar amount of credit granted to each certified employer.\n (f) Certified employer's taxable year. If the certified employer's\ntaxable year is a calendar year, the employer shall be entitled to claim\nthe credit as shown on the certificate of tax credit on the calendar\nyear return for which the certificate of tax credit was issued. If the\ncertified employer's taxable year is a fiscal year, the employer shall\nbe entitled to claim the credit as shown on the certificate of tax\ncredit on the return for the fiscal year that includes the last day of\nthe calendar year covered by the certificate of tax credit.\n (g) Cross references. For application of the credit provided for in\nthis section, see the following provisions of the tax law:\n 1. Article 9-A: Section 210-B, subdivision 53.\n 2. Article 22: Section 606, subsection (jjj).\n 3. Article 33: Section 1511, subdivision (dd).\n