2034.) A. The tax credit provided by this section may be referred to as the “advanced energy equipment corporate income tax credit”. A taxpayer that makes qualified expenditures for a qualified manufacturing facility located in New Mexico and that files a corporate income tax return for a taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and prior to January 1, 2033, may claim the tax credit in the amount provided in Subsection B of this section.

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B. The amount of the tax credit shall be in an amount equal to the lesser of twenty percent of the amount of the qualified expenditures made by the taxpayer for a qualified manufacturing facility or twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).

C. Prior to incurring a qualified expenditure, a taxpayer shall apply for preliminary certification of eligibility for the tax credit from the energy, minerals and natural resources department on forms and in the manner prescribed by that department. Such preliminary certification shall be made in consultation with the economic development department and shall be limited to confirming that the qualified expenditures proposed to be made by the taxpayer will in whole or in part be used to produce advanced energy products and providing an estimate of the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer may be eligible. Only one certificate of eligibility shall be issued for all activities performed at a qualified manufacturing facility, regardless of ownership of the facility.

D. Within twelve months of commencement of production of any advanced energy product, the taxpayer shall seek final certification from the energy, minerals and natural resources department. The total annual aggregate amount of advanced energy equipment corporate income tax credits and advanced energy equipment income tax credits that may be certified in a calendar year shall not exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). An application for final certification shall include information required by the energy, minerals and natural resources department to determine eligibility for the tax credit, including information substantiating qualified expenditures.

If, after consultation with the economic development department, the energy, minerals and natural resources department determines that the taxpayer meets the requirements of this section, the energy, minerals and natural resources department shall issue a dated certificate of eligibility to the taxpayer providing the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer is eligible and the taxable years in which the credit may be claimed. The energy, minerals and natural resources department shall provide the department with the certificates of eligibility issued pursuant to this subsection in an electronic format at regularly agreed-upon intervals. A certificate of eligibility for the tax credit may be sold, exchanged or otherwise transferred to another taxpayer in increments of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000); provided that if the total amount certified is less than one million dollars ($1,000,000), a certificate of the entire amount of the credit may be transferred. The parties to such a transaction shall notify the department of the sale, exchange or transfer within ten days of the sale, exchange or transfer in an electronic format prescribed by the department.

E. A taxpayer allowed to claim the tax credit shall claim the credit in a manner required by the department. The tax credit shall be claimed within one year of receiving final certification from the energy, minerals and natural resources department. The taxpayer shall claim the amount certified and approved against the taxpayer’s corporate income tax liabilities. Any amount of credit that exceeds the taxpayer’s corporate income tax liabilities may be carried forward for five consecutive taxable years. A taxpayer that claims the tax credit shall report to the department and the energy, minerals and natural resources department on the continued operations of the qualified manufacturing facility.

F. If the taxpayer or a successor in the business of the taxpayer ceases operations at the qualifying manufacturing facility or ceases to produce advanced energy products for at least one hundred eighty days within a two-year period after the taxpayer has claimed the tax credit, any amount of credit that received final certification with respect to that facility that is not claimed against a taxpayer’s tax liability shall be extinguished, and within thirty days after the one hundred eightieth day of cessation of operations, the taxpayer that received final certification pursuant to Subsection D of this section shall pay to the department the tax liability against which the certified credit was claimed. For the purposes of this section, a taxpayer shall not be deemed to have ceased operations during reasonable periods for maintenance or retooling, for the repair or replacement of facilities damaged or destroyed or during labor disputes.

G. As used in this section:

(1)     “advanced energy product” means a technology, product, system or component eligible for a federal tax credit under Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code;

(2)     “essential” means directly necessary to the production of an advanced energy products;

(3)     “manufacturing equipment” means an essential machine, mechanism or tool or a component of an essential machine, mechanism or tool used directly and exclusively in a taxpayer’s qualified manufacturing facility and that is subject to depreciation pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code by the taxpayer carrying on the manufacturing. “Manufacturing equipment” does not include a vehicle that leaves the site of a manufacturing operation for the purpose of transporting persons or property, including property for which the taxpayer claims a credit pursuant to Section 7-9-79 N.M. Stat. Ann.;

(4)     “qualified expenditure” means an expenditure made on or after January 1, 2025 and prior to January 1, 2033 for the purchase of that portion of the costs of manufacturing equipment dedicated to manufacturing advanced energy products; and

(5)     “qualified manufacturing facility” means a facility located in New Mexico, including any connected, associated or subsidiary facilities, that employs personnel to perform production tasks with manufacturing equipment not previously existing at the facility to produce advanced energy products.