Authorizing the sale or transfer of tax credits in counties experiencing high rates of unemployment

1. The person is headquartered in a qualifying county.

2. The person intends to relocate its headquarters to a qualifying county.

3. The person intends to expand its operations in a qualifying county, and that expansion will increase by at least 10 percent the number of full-time jobs the person maintains in that county.

4. The person intends to expand its operations in a qualifying county, and the person will make a significant capital investment in property in that county as a result of that expansion.

Once the corporation authorizes a person to sell or transfer a tax credit, that person may sell or transfer up to 85 percent of the tax credit to another person who has Wisconsin tax liability. The person selling or transferring the credit must notify the corporation and either the Department of Revenue or, if appropriate, the commissioner of insurance of that sale or transfer. The person to whom a credit is sold or transferred may carry forward any unused amount of the transferred value of that credit for up to 15 years until fully claimed. Also, the corporation may prevent that person from claiming the tax credit for up to three years after the credit is sold or transferred.

The bill also authorizes the corporation to waive or modify a requirement of a certification for a tax credit issued by the corporation or Commerce if a person who may sell or transfer the tax credit applies to the corporation for that waiver or modification and the corporation determines that the requested waiver or modification will support economic development in qualifying counties. If the corporation revokes a person's certification for a tax credit and that person has already sold or transferred a portion of the tax credit, that person, not the person to whom the credit was transferred, must repay the full amount of the tax credit to the state.

Under the bill, the corporation may authorize the sale or transfer of up to $10,000,000 in partial tax credits over five years. However, if after reaching that 5-year limit, the corporation determines that an extension of the program will support economic development in qualifying counties, the corporation may continue the program for up to an additional five years and authorize sale or transfer of up to an additional $10,000,000 in partial tax credits. However, any such extension of the program is subject to passive review by the Joint Committee on Finance.