6. a. (1) The combined value of all credits approved by the authority pursuant to P.L.2007, c.346 (C. 34:1B-207 et seq.) and P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-242 et al.) prior to December 31, 2013 shall not exceed $1,750,000,000, except as may be increased by the authority as set forth in paragraph (5) of subsection a. of section 35 of P.L.2009, c.90 (C. 34:1B-209.3). Following the enactment of the “New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013,” P.L.2013, c.161 (C. 52:27D-489p et al.), there shall be no monetary cap on the value of credits approved by the authority attributable to the program pursuant to the “New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013,” P.L.2013, c.161 (C. 52:27D-489p et al.).

(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2013, c.161)

(3) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2013, c.161)

(4) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2013, c.161)

(5) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2013, c.161)

b. (1) A business shall submit an application for tax credits prior to July 1, 2019. The authority shall not approve an application for tax credits unless the application was submitted prior to July 1, 2019.

(2) (a) A business shall submit its documentation indicating that it has met the capital investment and employment requirements and all conditions of approvals specified in the incentive agreement for certification of its tax credit amount, to the authority’s satisfaction, within three years following the date of approval of its application by the authority. The authority shall have the discretion to grant two six-month extensions of this deadline. If the authority accepts the documentation, the authority shall request that the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury issue a tax credit based on the approved documentation to be used by the business during the eligibility period. Except as provided in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph, in no event shall the incentive effective date occur later than four years following the date of approval of an application by the authority.

(b) As of the effective date of P.L.2017, c.314, a business which applied for the tax credit prior to July 1, 2014 under P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-242 et al.), shall submit its documentation to the authority no later than July 28, 2019, indicating that it has met the capital investment and employment requirements specified in the incentive agreement for certification of its tax credit amount.

(c) If the Governor declares an emergency, then the chief executive officer of the authority shall have the discretion to grant an extension for the duration of the emergency and the board of the authority, upon recommendation of the chief executive officer, may grant two additional six-month extensions; provided that (i) the extensions are due to the economic disruption caused by the emergency; (ii) the project is delayed due to unforeseeable acts related to the project beyond the eligible business’s control and without its fault or negligence; (iii) the eligible business is using best efforts, with all due diligence, to proceed with the completion of the project and the submission of the certification; and (iv) the eligible business has made, and continues to make, all reasonable efforts to prevent, avoid, mitigate, and overcome the delay.

(3) Full-time employment for an accounting or privilege period shall be determined as the average of the monthly full-time employment for the period.

(4) A business seeking a credit for a mega project shall apply for the credit within four years after the effective date of the “New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013,” P.L.2013, c.161 (C. 52:27D-489p et al.).

c. (1) In conducting its annual review, the authority may require a business to submit any information determined by the authority to be necessary and relevant to its review.

The credit amount for any tax period for which the documentation of a business’s credit amount remains uncertified as of a date three years after the closing date of that period shall be forfeited, although credit amounts for the remainder of the years of the eligibility period shall remain available to it.

The credit amount may be taken by the tax certificate holder for the tax period for which it was issued or may be carried forward for use by the tax certificate holder in any of the next 20 successive tax periods, and shall expire thereafter. The tax certificate holder may transfer the tax credit amount on or after the date of issuance or at any time within three years of the date of issuance for use by the transferee in the tax period for which it was issued or in any of the next 20 successive tax periods. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no more than the amount of tax credits equal to the total credit amount divided by the duration of the eligibility period in years may be taken in any tax period.

A business may elect to suspend its obligations for the 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 tax period, or any combination thereof, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that the business shall make such election in writing to the authority before the issuance of the tax credit for the corresponding tax year and such suspension shall extend the term of the eligibility period by a corresponding amount of time. The authority shall amend the incentive agreement, and the business shall execute the amended incentive agreement within the time period provided by the authority. The amended incentive agreement shall provide that the failure to submit the annual report due to the suspension shall not be a forfeiture or an uncertified tax period.

(2) Credits granted to a partnership shall be passed through to the partners, members, or owners, respectively, pro-rata or pursuant to an executed agreement among the partners, members, or owners documenting an alternate distribution method provided to the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury accompanied by any additional information as the director may require.

(3) The amount of credit allowed may be applied against the tax liability otherwise due pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C. 54:10A-5), pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of P.L.1945, c.132 (C. 54:18A-2 and C. 54:18A-3), pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1950, c.231 (C. 17:32-15), or pursuant to N.J.S. 17B:23-5

(4) In order to respond to the profoundly negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the State‘s economy and finances, the authority may request a tax certificate holder, at the tax certificate holder’s discretion, to defer the application of a credit amount allowed pursuant to this section to a later tax period. Upon request, the authority and the tax certificate holder shall negotiate the terms of the deferral, which shall hold the certificate holder harmless, which will be made in the incentive agreement or as an addendum to the incentive agreement.

d. (1) If, in any tax period, the business reduces the total number of full-time employees in its Statewide workforce by more than 20 percent from the number of full-time employees in its Statewide workforce in the last tax period prior to the credit amount approval under section 3 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-244), then the business shall forfeit its credit amount 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 has been reviewed and approved by the authority, for which tax period and each subsequent tax period the full amount of the credit shall be allowed.

(2) If, in any tax period, the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility located within a qualified incentive area drops below 80 percent of the number of new and retained full-time jobs specified in the incentive agreement, then the business shall forfeit its credit amount for that tax period and each subsequent tax period, until the first tax period for which documentation demonstrating the restoration of the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility to 80 percent of the number of jobs specified in the incentive agreement.

(3) (a) If the qualified business facility is sold by the owner in whole or in part during the eligibility period, the new owner shall not acquire the capital investment of the seller and the seller shall forfeit all credits for the tax period in which the sale occurs and all subsequent tax periods, provided however that any credits of the business shall remain unaffected.

(b) In connection with a regional distribution facility of foodstuffs, the business entity or entities which own or lease the facility shall qualify as a business regardless of: (i) the type of the business entity or entities which own or lease the facility; (ii) the ownership or leasing of the facility by more than one business entity; or (iii) the ownership of the business entity or entities which own or lease the facility. The ownership or leasing, whether by members, shareholders, partners, or other owners of the business entity or entities, shall be treated as ownership or leasing by affiliates. The members, shareholders, partners, or other ownership or leasing participants and others that are tenants in the facility shall be treated as affiliates for the purpose of counting the full-time employees and capital investments in the facility. The business entity or entities may distribute credits to members, shareholders, partners, or other ownership or leasing participants in accordance with their respective interests. If the business entity or entities or their members, shareholders, partners, or other ownership or leasing participants lease space in the facility to members, shareholders, partners, or other ownership or leasing participants or others as tenants in the facility, the leases shall be treated as a lease to an affiliate, and the business entity or entities shall not be subject to forfeiture of the credits. For the purposes of this section, leasing shall include subleasing and tenants shall include subtenants.

(4) (a) For a project located within a Garden State Growth Zone, if, in any tax period, the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility located within a qualified incentive area increases above the number of full-time employees specified in the incentive agreement, then the business shall be entitled to an increased base credit amount for that tax period and each subsequent tax period, for each additional full-time employee added above the number of full-time employees specified in the incentive agreement, until the first tax period for which documentation demonstrating a reduction of the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility, at which time the tax credit amount will be adjusted accordingly pursuant to this section.

(b) For a project located within a Garden State Growth Zone which qualifies under the “Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act,” P.L.2002, c.43 (C. 52:27BBB-1 et al.), or which contains a Tourism District as established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2011, c.18 (C. 5:12-219) and regulated by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and which qualifies for a tax credit pursuant to subsubparagraph (ii) of subparagraphs (a) through (e) of paragraph (6) of subsection d. of section 5 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-246), if, in any tax period the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility located within a qualified incentive area increases above the number of full-time employees specified in the incentive agreement such that the business shall then meet the minimum number of employees required in subparagraph (b), (c), (d), or (e) of paragraph (6) of subsection d. of section 5 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-246), then the authority shall recalculate the total tax credit amount per full-time job by using the certified capital investment of the project allowable under the applicable subsubparagraph and the number of full-time jobs certified on the date of the recalculation and applying those numbers to subparagraph (b), (c), (d), or (e) of paragraph (6) of subsection d. of section 5 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-246), until the first tax period for which documentation demonstrating a reduction of the number of full-time employees employed by the business at the qualified business facility, at which time the tax credit amount shall be adjusted accordingly pursuant to this section.

e. The authority shall not enter into an incentive agreement with a business that has previously received incentives pursuant to the “Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Act,” P.L.1996, c.25 (C. 34:1B-112 et seq.), the “Business Employment Incentive Program Act,” P.L.1996, c.26 (C. 34:1B-124 et al.), or any other program administered by the authority unless:

(1) the business has satisfied all of its obligations underlying the previous award of incentives or is compliant with section 4 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-245); or

(2) the capital investment incurred and new or retained full-time jobs pledged by the business in the new incentive agreement are separate and apart from any capital investment or jobs underlying the previous award of incentives.

f. A business which has already applied for a tax credit incentive award prior to the effective date of the “New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013,” P.L.2013, c.161 (C. 52:27D-489p et al.), but who has not yet been approved for the tax credits, or has not executed an agreement with the authority, may proceed under that application or seek to amend the application or reapply for a tax credit incentive award for the same project or any part thereof for the purpose of availing itself of any more favorable provisions of the program.

g. A business that has entered into an incentive agreement may request before December 31, 2023 to terminate the incentive agreement, commencing with the 2020 tax period or any subsequent tax period ending on or before December 31, 2023, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency; provided that the business shall submit a certification from the business’s chief executive officer or equivalent officer stating that the termination is due, directly or indirectly, to the public health emergency and describing the impact of the public health emergency on the business. All credits for the tax period in which the termination occurs and all subsequent tax periods shall be forfeited, provided however that any credits of the business shall remain unaffected. A termination agreement executed by the authority and business shall not be amended.

h. A business that has entered into an incentive agreement may request, before December 31, 2023, to reduce the number of new or retained full-time jobs specified in the incentive agreement based on a certification of the business of the eligible positions at the qualified business facility commencing with the 2020 tax period and, at the discretion of the business, whether the reduction shall continue for each subsequent tax period remaining in the eligibility period, provided that the business maintains the minimum number of new or retained full-time jobs required to be eligible pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.2011, c.149 (C. 34:1B-244). The reduction in employment shall first apply to the number of new full-time employees, and then shall apply to the number of retained full-time employees.

The authority shall calculate a new tax credit total amount for the 2020 tax period and the remainder of the eligibility period based on the reduced employment and shall amend the incentive agreement to reflect the recalculated award amount. In no event shall the modification result in an increase in employment or tax credit amount.

i. Following the termination of the public health emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to Executive Order No. 103 of 2020, as extended, a business that has entered into an incentive agreement may elect, before December 31, 2023, to waive, for the period beginning on July 1, 2022 and ending on December 31, 2023, the requirement that a full-time employee who is employed by the business shall spend at least 60 percent of the employee’s time at the qualified business facility; provided, however, that a business that makes such an election shall satisfy the following criteria:

(1) any full-time employee employed by the business shall spend at least 10 percent of the employee’s time at the qualified business facility through the 2023 tax period; and

(2) following the receipt by the business of its tax credit certificate or tax credit transfer certificate for the 2022 tax period, the business shall make a payment of an amount equal to five percent of the amount of tax credit the business receives for the 2022 tax period, which payment shall be made to the authority, and which payment the authority shall hold and make available for the provision of loans, guarantees, equity investments, and grants, or other forms of financing to support small business and downtown or commercial corridor activation activities within the municipality in which the qualified business facility is located, as may be designated by the chief executive officer of the authority.

L.2011, c.149, s.6; amended 2012, c.35, s.4; 2013, c.161, s.11; 2014, c.63, s.5; 2015, c.252, s.4; 2017, c.313, s.1; 2017, c.314, s.4; 2018, c.120, s.3; 2020, c.8, s.3; 2020, c.156, s.108; 2021, c.160, s.57; 2022, c.134, s.4.