Amendment #385 to H3600

Seafood Facility Construction Costs

Mr. Nangle of Lowell moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

“Section XXXX   Chapter 62 of the Massachusetts General  Laws,  is hereby amended by adding after section 6 (s) the following:-

Section 6 (t) A taxpayer or nonprofit organization that incurs qualified seafood facility construction costs and who completes  the construction of a building or structure for the exclusive use of seafood processing or seafood storage and which is located in a Designated Port Area, as defined by 301 CMR 25.02, shall at the time a certificate of occupancy  or its equivalent is issued by the municipality in which the building or structure is located, be allowed a credit of 50 percent of such construction costs.

Any credit allowed under this subsection may be taken only after a seafood facility occupancy status submittal has been filed with and certified by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency which may impose a fee for the processing of applications for the certification of any seafood processing or seafood storage facility.

Any taxpayer entitled to a credit under this subsection for any taxable year may carry over and apply to its tax liability for any subsequent taxable year, not to exceed 5 taxable years, the portion of those credits, as reduced from year to year, which were not allowed under this subparagraph.

For the purposes of this section, qualified seafood facility construction costs shall include all costs, including cost of building material and supplies, fixtures, equipment, design, engineering, permitting and labor costs, paid by the taxpayer for the purpose of constructing a building or structure for the exclusive use of seafood processing or seafood storage and which is located in a designated port area, as defined by 301 C.M.R  25.02

All or any portion of tax credits issued in accordance with this subsection may be transferred, sold or assigned to a taxpayer with a liability under this chapter or chapter 63 or to a nonprofit organization. A taxpayer or nonprofit organization desiring to make a transfer, sale or assignment shall submit to the commissioner a statement which describes the amount of the Massachusetts seafood facility tax credit for which the transfer, sale or assignment of Massachusetts seafood facility tax credit is eligible. The taxpayer or nonprofit organization shall provide to the commissioner appropriate information so that the seafood facility tax credit can be properly allocated. The commissioner shall issue a certificate to the party receiving the seafood facility tax credit reflecting the amount of the tax credit received, a copy of which shall be attached by the party receiving the seafood facility tax credit to each tax return in which the tax credits are used.

The commissioner shall annually, not later than September 1, file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means, the chairs of the joint committee on community development and small businesses and the chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies identifying the total amount of tax credits claimed pursuant to the this subsection and the total amount of tax credits transferred, sold, or assigned hereunder for the preceding fiscal year.

If the certified seafood facility is disposed of or ceases to be used for the exclusive use of seafood processing or seafood storage before the end of such facility’s useful life, the recapture provisions of subsection (e) of section 31A of Chapter 63 shall apply.

The provisions of this subsection shall apply to qualified seafood construction costs incurred or after January 1, 2017."