§35. Neighborhood assistance tax credit

A. The following words and phrases used in this Section, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Business firm" means any business entity authorized to do business in the state of Louisiana and subject to the state corporate income tax imposed by the provisions of Title 47.

(2) "Community services" means any type of counseling and advice, emergency assistance, or medical care furnished to individuals or groups in the state of Louisiana.

(3) "Crime prevention" means any activity which aids in the reduction of crime in the state of Louisiana.

(4) "Education" means any type of scholastic instruction or scholarship assistance to an individual who resides in the state of Louisiana that enables him to prepare himself for better opportunities.

(5) "Job training" means any type of instruction to an individual who resides in the state of Louisiana that enables him to acquire vocational skills so that he can become employable or be able to seek a higher grade of employment.

(6) "Neighborhood assistance" means furnishing financial assistance, labor, material, or technical advice to aid in the physical improvement or rehabilitation of any part or all of a neighborhood area.

(7) "Neighborhood organization" means any organization performing community services in the state of Louisiana and which is

(a) Determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from income taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, or

(b) Incorporated in the state of Louisiana as a nonprofit corporation under the provisions of R.S. 12:201 et seq., or

(c) Designated as a community development corporation by the United States government under the provisions of Title VII of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

(8) "Neighborhood" means a specific geographic area, urban, inter-urban, suburban, or rural as certified by the Division of Community Development of the Department of Consumer Affairs regulation and licensing, which is experiencing problems endangering its existence as a viable and stable neighborhood.

B. Any business firm engaged in the activities of providing neighborhood assistance, job training, education for individuals, community services, or crime prevention in the state of Louisiana shall receive a tax credit as provided in Subsection C if the commissioner of administration annually approves the proposal of the business firm; except that, no proposal shall be approved which does not have the endorsement of the agency of local government within the area in which the business firm is engaging in such activities, which has adopted an overall community or neighborhood development plan, that the proposal is consistent with such plan. The proposal shall set forth the program to be conducted, the neighborhood area to be served, why the program is needed, the estimated amount to be invested in the program and the plans for implementing the program. If, in the opinion of the commissioner of administration, a business firm's investment can more consistently be made through contributions to a neighborhood organization as defined in Subdivision (7) of Subsection A, tax credits may be allowed as provided in Subsection C. The commissioner of administration is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations for establishing criteria for evaluating such proposals by business firms for approval or disapproval and for establishing priorities for approval or disapproval of such proposals by business firms with the assistance and approval of the secretary of the Department of Revenue. The total amount of tax credit granted for programs approved by the commissioner of administration for each fiscal year shall not exceed one percent of the total amount of state corporate income tax as collected in the prior fiscal year.

C. The division of administration shall grant a tax credit against the state corporate income tax liability. A tax credit of up to fifty percent of the actual amount contributed may be allowed for investment in programs approved by the commissioner of administration. Such credit for any corporation shall not exceed one hundred eighty thousand dollars annually. No tax credit shall be granted to any bank, bank and trust company, insurance company, trust company, national bank, savings association, or building and loan association for activities that are a part of its normal course of business. Any tax credit not used in the period the investment was made may be carried over for the next five succeeding taxable periods until the full credit has been allowed.

D. The decision of the commissioner of administration to approve or disapprove a proposal pursuant to this Section shall be in writing, and if he approves the proposal, he shall state the maximum credit allowable to the business firm. A copy of the decision of the commissioner of administration shall be transmitted to the governor and to the secretary of the Department of Revenue.

Added by Acts 1982, No. 653, §1, eff. July 22, 1982; Acts 1988, No. 625, §4; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2; Acts 2015, No. 125, §2, eff. July 1, 2015; Acts 2016, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §2; Acts 2017, No. 400, §§1, 4, eff. June 26, 2017.