(1) In order to utilize the incentives set forth in the Nebraska Advantage Act, the taxpayer shall file an application, on a form developed by the Tax Commissioner, requesting an agreement with the Tax Commissioner.

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(2) The application shall contain:

(a) A written statement describing the plan of employment and investment for a qualified business in this state;

(b) Sufficient documents, plans, and specifications as required by the Tax Commissioner to support the plan and to define a project;

(c) If more than one location within this state is involved, sufficient documentation to show that the employment and investment at different locations are interdependent parts of the plan. A headquarters shall be presumed to be interdependent with each other location directly controlled by such headquarters. A showing that the parts of the plan would be considered parts of a unitary business for corporate income tax purposes shall not be sufficient to show interdependence for the purposes of this subdivision;

(d) A nonrefundable application fee of one thousand dollars for a tier 1 project, two thousand five hundred dollars for a tier 2, tier 3, or tier 5 project, five thousand dollars for a tier 4 project, and ten thousand dollars for a tier 6 project. The fee shall be credited to the Nebraska Incentives Fund; and

(e) A timetable showing the expected sales tax refunds and what year they are expected to be claimed. The timetable shall include both direct refunds due to investment and credits taken as sales tax refunds as accurately as possible.

The application and all supporting information shall be confidential except for the name of the taxpayer, the location of the project, the amounts of increased employment and investment, and the information required to be reported by sections 77-5731 and 77-5734.

(3) An application must be complete to establish the date of the application. An application shall be considered complete once it contains the items listed in subsection (2) of this section, regardless of the Tax Commissioner’s additional needs pertaining to information or clarification in order to approve or not approve the application.

(4) Once satisfied that the plan in the application defines a project consistent with the purposes stated in the Nebraska Advantage Act in one or more qualified business activities within this state, that the taxpayer and the plan will qualify for benefits under the act, and that the required levels of employment and investment for the project will be met within the applicable time period prescribed in this subsection, the Tax Commissioner shall approve the application. For a tier 6 project submitted and approved by the Tax Commissioner prior to December 1, 2020, or for any tier 1 or tier 3 project, the required levels of employment and investment shall be met prior to the end of the fourth year after the year in which the application was submitted. For a tier 6 project submitted and approved by the Tax Commissioner on or after December 1, 2020, or for any tier 2, tier 4, or tier 5 project, the required levels of employment and investment shall be met prior to the end of the sixth year after the year in which the application was submitted. For a tier 5 project that is sequential to a tier 2 large data center project, the required level of investment shall be met prior to the end of the fourth year after the expiration of the tier 2 large data center project entitlement period relating to sales tax exemptions.

(5) The Tax Commissioner shall make his or her determination to approve or not approve an application within one hundred eighty days after the date of the application. If the Tax Commissioner requests, by mail or by electronic means, additional information or clarification from the taxpayer in order to make his or her determination, such one-hundred-eighty-day period shall be tolled from the time the Tax Commissioner makes the request to the time he or she receives the requested information or clarification from the taxpayer. The taxpayer and the Tax Commissioner may also agree to extend the one-hundred-eighty-day period. If the Tax Commissioner fails to make his or her determination within the prescribed one-hundred-eighty-day period, the application shall be deemed approved.

(6) Within one hundred eighty days after approval of the application, the Tax Commissioner shall prepare and mail a written agreement to the taxpayer for the taxpayer’s signature. The taxpayer and the Tax Commissioner shall enter into a written agreement. The taxpayer shall agree to complete the project, and the Tax Commissioner, on behalf of the State of Nebraska, shall designate the approved plan of the taxpayer as a project and, in consideration of the taxpayer’s agreement, agree to allow the taxpayer to use the incentives contained in the Nebraska Advantage Act. The application, and all supporting documentation, to the extent approved, shall be considered a part of the agreement. The agreement shall state:

(a) The levels of employment and investment required by the act for the project;

(b) The time period under the act in which the required levels must be met;

(c) The documentation the taxpayer will need to supply when claiming an incentive under the act;

(d) The date the application was filed; and

(e) A requirement that the company update the Department of Revenue annually on any changes in plans or circumstances which affect the timetable of sales tax refunds as set out in the application. If the company fails to comply with this requirement, the Tax Commissioner may defer any pending sales tax refunds until the company does comply.

(7) The incentives contained in section 77-5725 shall be in lieu of the tax credits allowed by the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act for any project. In computing credits under the act, any investment or employment which is eligible for benefits or used in determining benefits under the Nebraska Advantage Act shall be subtracted from the increases computed for determining the credits under section 77-27,188. New investment or employment at a project location that results in the meeting or maintenance of the employment or investment requirements, the creation of credits, or refunds of taxes under the Employment and Investment Growth Act shall not be considered new investment or employment for purposes of the Nebraska Advantage Act. The use of carryover credits under the Employment and Investment Growth Act, the Invest Nebraska Act, the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act, or the Quality Jobs Act shall not preclude investment and employment from being considered new investment or employment under the Nebraska Advantage Act. The use of property tax exemptions at the project under the Employment and Investment Growth Act shall not preclude investment not eligible for the property tax exemption from being considered new investment under the Nebraska Advantage Act.

(8) A taxpayer and the Tax Commissioner may enter into agreements for more than one project and may include more than one project in a single agreement. The projects may be either sequential or concurrent. A project may involve the same location as another project. No new employment or new investment shall be included in more than one project for either the meeting of the employment or investment requirements or the creation of credits. When projects overlap and the plans do not clearly specify, then the taxpayer shall specify in which project the employment or investment belongs.

(9) The taxpayer may request that an agreement be modified if the modification is consistent with the purposes of the act and does not require a change in the description of the project. An agreement may not be modified to a tier that would grant a higher level of benefits to the taxpayer or to a tier 1 project. Once satisfied that the modification to the agreement is consistent with the purposes stated in the act, the Tax Commissioner and taxpayer may amend the agreement. For a tier 6 project, the taxpayer must agree to limit the project to qualified activities allowable under tier 2 and tier 4.