§ 42-64.5-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Adjusted current employment� means, for any taxable year ending on or after July
1, 1995, the aggregate of the average daily number of full-time equivalent active
employees employed within the State by an eligible company and its eligible subsidiaries
during each taxable year.
(2) "Affiliated entity� means any corporation owned or controlled by the same persons
or shareholders who own or control an eligible company.
(3) "Base employmentâ€� means, except as otherwise provided in § 42-64.5-7, the aggregate number of full-time equivalent active employees employed within the
State by an eligible company and its eligible subsidiaries on July 1, 1994, or at
the election of the eligible company, on an alternative date as provided by § 42-64.5-5. In the case of a manufacturing company that is ruined by disaster, the aggregate
number of full-time equivalent active employees employed at the destroyed facility
would be zero, under which circumstance the base employment date shall be July 1 of
the calendar year in which the disaster occurred. Only one base employment period
can be elected for purposes of a rate reduction by an eligible company.
(4) "Disaster� means an occurrence, natural or otherwise, that results in the destruction
of sixty percent (60%) or more of an operating manufacturing business facility in
this state, thereby making the production of products by the eligible company impossible
and as a result active employees of the facility are without employment in that facility.
However, disaster does not include any damage resulting from the willful act of the
owner(s) of the manufacturing business facility.
(5) "Eligible company� means any corporation, state bank, federal savings bank, trust
company, national banking association, bank holding company, loan and investment company,
mutual savings bank, credit union, building and loan association, insurance company,
investment company, broker-dealer company, manufacturing company, telecommunications
company or surety company or an eligible subsidiary of any of the foregoing. An eligible
company does not have to be in existence, be qualified to do business in the state,
or have any employees in this state at the time its base employment is determined.
(6) "Eligible subsidiary� means each corporation eighty percent (80%) or more of the outstanding
common stock of which is owned by an eligible company.
(7) "Full-time equivalent active employee� means any employee of an eligible company who:
(i) works a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week within the State, or two (2) or
more part-time employees whose combined weekly hours equal or exceed thirty (30) hours
per week within the State; and (ii) earns no less than one hundred fifty percent (150%)
of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law; provided, however, for
tax years ending after the later of July 1, 2003, and the first tax year that an eligible
company qualifies for a rate reduction pursuant to § 42-64.5-3, for purposes of this section, one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the hourly minimum
wage prescribed by Rhode Island law shall mean one hundred fifty percent (150%) of
the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law at: (A) the time the employee
was first treated as a full-time equivalent active employee during a tax year that
the eligible company qualified for a rate reduction pursuant to § 42-64.5-3, or, if later, (B) the time the employee first earned at least one hundred fifty
percent (150%) of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law as an employee
of the eligible company. For eligible companies qualifying on or after July 1, 2009,
for a rate reduction pursuant to § 42-64.5-3, the term "full-time equivalent active employeeâ€� means any employee of an eligible
company who: (i) works a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week within the state; (ii)
earns healthcare insurance benefits, and retirement benefits; and (iii) earns no less
than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode
Island law at the later of: (A) the time the employee was first treated as a full-time
equivalent active employee during a tax year that the eligible company qualified for
a rate reduction pursuant to § 42-64.5-3; or (B) the time the employee first earned at least two hundred fifty percent (250%)
of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law as an employee of the eligible
company. For eligible companies qualifying before July 1, 2009, for a rate reduction
pursuant to § 42-64.5-3, any new "full-time equivalent active employee,â€� who replaces an existing "full-time
equivalent active employee,� shall meet the following standards to remain eligible:
(i) works a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week within the state; (ii) earns healthcare
insurance benefits, and retirement benefits; and (iii) earns no less than two hundred
fifty percent (250%) of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law at
the later of: (A) the time the employee was first treated as a full-time equivalent
active employee during a tax year that the eligible company qualified for a rate reduction
pursuant to § 42-64.5-3; or (B) the time the employee first earned at least two hundred fifty percent (250%)
of the hourly minimum wage prescribed by Rhode Island law as an employee of the eligible
company.
(8) "Initial new employment level� means the number of units of new employment reported
by an eligible company in 1997, or, if applicable, the third taxable year following
the base employment period election set forth in § 42-64.5-5.
(9)(i) "New employment� means for each taxable year the amount of adjusted current employment
for each taxable year minus the amount of base employment, but in no event less than
zero; provided, however, no eligible company is permitted to transfer, assign, or
hire employees who are already employed within the State by such eligible company
from itself or any affiliated entity or utilize any other artifice or device for the
purpose of artificially creating new employees in order to qualify for the rate reduction
provided for in this chapter.
(ii) Except as provided in § 42-64.5-7, "new employmentâ€� shall not include employees already employed in this state who
become employees of an eligible company as a result of an acquisition of an existing
company by purchase, merger, or otherwise, if the existing company was eligible for
a rate reduction. In the case of a manufacturing company that suffers a disaster,
it shall mean any employment retained or added as the result of reconstruction of
the manufacturing facility.
(10) "Rate reductionâ€� means the reduction in tax rate specified in § 42-64.5-4.
(11) "Small business concernâ€� means, except as otherwise provided in § 42-64.5-7, any eligible company that has a base employment level of less than one hundred (100);
provided, however, that a telecommunications company may not qualify as a small business
concern.
(12) "State� means the State of Rhode Island.
(13) "Telecommunications company� means any public service company or corporation whose
rate of taxation is determined under § 44-13-4(4).
(14) "Total employment� for an eligible company as of any date means the total number of
full-time equivalent active employees employed within the State by the eligible company
and its eligible subsidiaries on such date.
(15) "Units of new employment� means: (i) for eligible companies that are not small business
concerns, the amount of new employment divided by fifty (50), rounded down to the
nearest multiple of fifty (50), and (ii) for eligible companies that are small business
concerns, the amount of new employment divided by ten (10), rounded down to the nearest
multiple of ten (10); provided, however, that an eligible company (other than an eligible
company that is a telecommunications company) with adjusted current employment of
one hundred (100) or more employees in its first year of operation or in any other
period following the date its base employment is determined shall determine its units
of new employment by dividing the first one hundred (100) employees less its base
employment by ten (10), rounded down to the nearest multiple of ten (10), and by dividing
the number of additional employees in excess of one hundred (100) by fifty (50), rounded
down to the nearest multiple of fifty (50).