§ 44-48.3-5. Incentive agreement required prior to issuance of tax credits. (a) The commerce corporation shall require an eligible business to enter into an incentive agreement prior to the issuance of tax credits. The incentive agreement shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) A detailed description of the proposed job creation including industry sectors and the number of new full-time jobs that are sought to be approved for tax credits;

(2) The eligibility period of the tax credits, including the first year for which the tax credits may be claimed;

(3) A requirement that the applicant maintain the project at a location in Rhode Island for the commitment period, with at least the minimum number of full-time employees as required by this program;

(4) A method for the business to annually certify that it has met the employment requirements of the program for each year of the commitment period;

(5) A provision permitting an audit of the payroll records of the business from time to time, as the commerce corporation deems necessary;

(6) A provision establishing the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated;

(7) A provision that if, in any tax period, the business reduces the total number of full-time employees in its statewide workforce in the last tax period prior to the credit amount approval under this program by more than twenty percent (20%) of jobs for which a credit was granted under this chapter as described in the business's incentive agreement(s), then the business shall forfeit all credit amounts described in the business's incentive agreement(s) for that tax period and each subsequent tax period, until the first tax period for which documentation demonstrating the restoration of the business's statewide workforce to the threshold levels required by the incentive agreement(s) has been reviewed and approved by the commerce corporation, for which tax period and each subsequent tax period the full amount of the credit shall be allowed; and

(8) A provision that during the commitment period, if the business ceases operations in the state or transfers more than fifty percent (50%) of the jobs for which a credit was granted under this chapter to another state, the tax credit shall cease pursuant to this section and the business shall be liable to the state for, at a minimum, twenty percent (20%) of all tax benefits granted to the business under this chapter calculated from the date of the incentive agreement.

History of Section. (P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 19, § 15.)