MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Ways and Means
By: Representatives Lamar, McGee, White, Bell (21st), Hughes, Steverson, Miles, Shanks, Powell, Corley
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI EDUCATIONAL TALENT RECRUITMENT ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR A REBATE PROGRAM IN WHICH AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A RECENT GRADUATE OF A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN MISSISSIPPI OR OUTSIDE MISSISSIPPI, AND IS A RESIDENT OF THIS STATE EMPLOYED IN A QUALIFYING JOB IN THIS STATE MAY PARTICIPATE AND RECEIVE A REBATE IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO ALL OR A PORTION OF THE AMOUNT OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S STATE INCOME TAX LIABILITY FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATES IN THE PROGRAM; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 27-7-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A REBATE RECEIVED UNDER THIS ACT IS DEDUCTIBLE AS AN ADJUSTMENT TO GROSS INCOME FOR STATE INCOME TAX PURPOSES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Mississippi Educational Talent Recruitment Act.
SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "College or university" means (i) any of the state institutions of higher learning listed in Section 37-101-1, (ii) any regionally accredited, nonprofit four-year college or university located in the State of Mississippi, or (iii) any such institution of higher learning or regionally accredited four-year college or university located outside the State of Mississippi.
(b) "Qualifying job" means employment in the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Qualified individual" means an individual who is designated by the department to participate in the rebate program under this section.
(d) "Recent graduate" means a resident of the State of Mississippi who has (i) been awarded a baccalaureate degree and/or post graduate degree from a college or university no more than two (2) years preceding January 1 of the first calendar year for which the individual files an application with the department to participate in the rebate program authorized in this section or (ii) completed a postgraduate medical or other similar professional residency or fellowship training no more than one (1) year preceding January 1 of the first calendar year for which the individual files an application with the department to participate in the rebate program authorized in this section.
(2) (a) The department shall establish a program in which a recent graduate who is a qualified individual may receive a rebate equal to all or a portion of the amount of the qualified individual's state income tax liability under this chapter for a five-year period in which the individual participates in the program.
(b) A recent graduate who desires to participate in the rebate program must file an application with the department on forms prepared by the department. The department shall review the application and determine whether the applicant is eligible to participate in the program. If the department determines that an applicant is eligible to participate in the program, the department shall issue a certificate designating the applicant as a qualified individual. In order to remain a qualified individual, an individual must remain a resident of the State of Mississippi and be employed in a qualifying job. A qualified individual who remains eligible and participates in the program for five (5) years may, within six (6) months after completion of the five-year period, file an application for a rebate under this section. The department shall review the application and determine whether the applicant is eligible to receive a rebate under this section. If the department determines that the applicant remained a qualified individual during the entire five-year period, the department shall provide a rebate to the individual equal to fifty percent (50%) of the amount of the individual's state income tax liability under this chapter for the five-year period in which the individual participated in the program. However, the rebate to the individual shall be equal to the full amount of the individual's state income tax liability under this chapter for the five-year period if, in addition to remaining a qualified individual during the five-year period, the individual (i) purchased and owns property in this state for residential or commercial use by the individual, (ii) established a business in this state that is registered with the Secretary of State and has at least one (1) employee, other than the individual, whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding Law of 1968 and/or (iii) serves in an instructional capacity as a licensed teacher in a public school or nonpublic school as defined in Section 37-13-91.
(3) The department shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this section, and the department shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.
SECTION 3. Section 27-7-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-7-18. (1) Alimony payments. In the case of a person described in Section 27-7-15(2)(e), there shall be allowed as a deduction from gross income amounts paid as periodic payments to the extent of such amounts as are includible in the gross income of the spouse as provided in Section 27-7-15(2)(e), payment of which is made within the person's taxable year.
(2) Unreimbursed moving expenses incurred after December 31, 1994, are deductible as an adjustment to gross income in accordance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code, and rules, regulations and revenue procedures thereunder relating to moving expenses, not in direct conflict with the provisions of the Mississippi Income Tax Law.
(3) Amounts paid after December 31, 1998, by a self-employed individual for insurance which constitute medical care for the taxpayer, his spouse and dependents, are deductible as an adjustment to gross income in accordance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code, and rules, regulations and revenue procedures thereunder relating to such payments, not in direct conflict with the provisions of the Mississippi Income Tax Law.
(4) Contributions or payments to a Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program account are deductible from gross income as provided in Section 37-155-113. Payments made under a prepaid tuition contract entered into under the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program are deductible as provided in Section 37-155-17.
(5) (a) Unreimbursed travel expenses, lodging expenses and lost wages an individual incurred as a result of, and related to, the donation, while living, of one or more of his or her organs for human organ transplantation, are deductible from gross income. The deduction from gross income authorized by this subsection may be claimed for only once and may not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
(b) As used in this subsection, "organ" means all or part of a liver, pancreas, kidney, intestine, lung or bone marrow.
(6) In the case of a self-employed individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction from gross income an amount equal to:
(a) Seventeen percent (17%) of the federal self-employment taxes imposed on such individual for taxable years ending in calendar year 2017;
(b) Thirty-four percent (34%) of the federal self-employment taxes imposed on such individual for taxable years ending in calendar year 2018; and
(c) Fifty percent (50%) of the federal self-employment taxes imposed on such individual for taxable years ending in calendar year 2019 and thereafter.
(7) Contributions or payments to a Mississippi Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program account are deductible from gross income as provided in Section 43-28-13.
(8) Amounts received by a qualified individual as a rebate under the program authorized in Section 2 of this act are deductible from gross income. For the purposes of this subsection (8), the term "qualified individual" means and has the same definition as that term has in Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 4. A college or university described in Section 2(1)(a)(i) or (ii) of this act must develop a policy and procedure for making information available to students regarding the availability of the rebate program provided for in Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 5. Section 2 of this act shall be codified as a new section in Chapter 7, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2019.