SB 448

This bill creates an income tax and franchise tax credit for an employer that

pays wages to an apprentice who is participating in a two-year to five-year

apprenticeship program in which the apprentice is receiving instruction leading to

qualification as a skilled journeyman in any of the five industrial manufacturing

trades; any of the five private sector service occupations; or any of the five

construction trades; with the most projected job openings for new entrants, as

determined by the Department of Workforce Development. The amount of the credit

is 5 percent of the wages paid to an apprentice in a taxable year, but cannot exceed

$1,400, except that, in the taxable year in which the apprentice completes the

apprenticeship program, the amount of the credit is 8 percent of the wages paid to

an apprentice, but cannot exceed $3,000. Generally, no employer may claim the

credit for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2014, if the number of

employers training apprentices does not increase by more than 40 percent from

January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2014.