House Bill 1590

AN ACT TO PROVIDE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT, INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX CREDIT AND GAMING GROSS REVENUE LICENSE FEE CREDIT FOR ENTITIES THAT INCUR CERTAIN COSTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF AIDING IN INCREASING COMMERCIAL AIR SERVICE AT COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORTS IN THIS STATE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE CREDIT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF THE CREDITS THAT MAY BE CLAIMED BY ALL ENTITIES IN ANY ONE STATE FISCAL YEAR SHALL NOT EXCEED $2,500,000.00; TO AMEND SECTION 27-15-129, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT MAY REDUCE A TAXPAYER'S INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX LIABILITY UNDER SUCH SECTION SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY EXPENDITURE FOR WHICH A CREDIT MAY BE CLAIMED UNDER THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Eligible expenditures" means costs and expenses incurred by an entity, as approved by the Mississippi Development Authority, to aid in increasing commercial air service at commercial service airports in this state and expended for ground handling cost mitigation, seat cost mitigation and/or minimum revenue guarantee.

(b) "Ground handling cost mitigation" means funds provided by an entity to an air service provider for the purpose of assisting in paying costs incurred by the air service provider to conduct activities related to the arrival and departure of passenger air craft at a commercial service airport in this state.

(c) "Minimum revenue guarantee" means funds pledged and/or provided by an entity directly to an air service provider for the purpose of assisting the air service provider in offsetting a revenue shortfall, regardless of whether potential or actual, when initiating air service or a new air service market at a commercial service airport in this state.

(d) "MDA" means the Mississippi Development Authority.

(e) "Seat cost mitigation" means funds provided by an entity to an air service provider for the purpose of assisting the air service provider in reducing the cost of airline seats for persons purchasing such seats for travel to a commercial service airport in this state.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, any entity making eligible expenditures shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed under Section 27-7-5, 27-15-103, 27-15-109 and 27-15-123 and the gross revenue license fee imposed under Section 75-76-177. The credit shall be for an amount equal to thirty-five percent (35%) of the amount of eligible expenditures made by the entity. However, the amount of the credit that may be utilized by an entity in any one (1) tax year shall be limited to an amount not greater than the total liability of the entity for the taxes and/or fees imposed under such sections of law. An entity may claim the credit for the taxable year in which the eligible expenditures are made. Any credit claimed under this section but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for the ten (10) succeeding taxable years from the close of the taxable year in which the credit was earned. The maximum cumulative amount of credits that may be claimed by all entities claiming a credit under this section in any one (1) state fiscal year shall not exceed Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00), exclusive of credits that might be carried forward from previous taxable years. A taxpayer claiming a credit under this section against the taxes imposed by Sections 27-7-5, 27-15-103, 27-15-109 and 27-15-123 shall not be required to pay any additional tax under Section 27-15-123 as a result of claiming such credit.

(3) In order to claim a credit authorized under this section, an entity shall apply to the MDA which shall determine the amount of eligible expenditures made for which a credit is claimed. The MDA shall issue a certificate evidencing the eligible credit if the MDA determines the entity is eligible for the credit. The entity shall attach the certificate to all applicable returns on which the credit is claimed.

(4) The MDA shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this section, and the MDA shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.

SECTION 2. Section 27-15-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-15-129. (1) The amount of premium tax payable pursuant to Sections 27-15-103, 27-15-109, 27-15-119 and 83-31-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be reduced from the amount otherwise fixed in such sections if the payer files a sworn statement with the required annual report showing as of the beginning of the reporting period that at least the following amounts of the total admitted assets of the payer were invested and maintained in qualifying Mississippi investments as hereinafter defined in subsection (2) of this section over the period covered by such report:

Percentage of Total Admitted Percentage of Premium

Assets in Qualifying Tax Payable

Mississippi Investments

1% 99%

2% 98%

3% 97%

4% 96%

5% 95%

6% 94%

7% 93%

8% 92%

9% 91%

10% 80%

15% 70%

20% 60%

25% 50%

(2) For the purpose of this section, "a qualifying Mississippi investment" is hereby defined as follows:

(a) Certificates of deposit issued by any bank or savings and loan association domiciled in this state;

(b) Bonds of this state or bonds of municipal, school, road or levee districts, or other political subdivisions of this state;

(d) Real property located in this state;

(e) Policy loans to residents of Mississippi, or other loans to residents of this state, or to corporations domiciled in this state;

(f) Common or preferred stock, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness of corporations domiciled in this state; and

(g) Cash on deposit in any bank or savings and loan association domiciled in this state.

"A qualifying Mississippi investment" shall not include any investment for which a credit is allocated under Section 57-105-1 * * *~~and/or~~, Section 57-115-1 et seq. and/or Section 1 of this act.

(3) If the credits, or any part thereof, authorized by the preceding provisions of this section shall be held by a court of final jurisdiction to be unconstitutional and void for any reason or to make the annual premium taxes levied by Sections 27-15-103, 27-15-109, 27-15-119 and 83-31-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, unlawfully discriminatory or otherwise invalid under the Fourteenth Amendment or the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States or under any state or other federal constitutional provisions, it is hereby expressly declared that such fact shall in no way affect the validity of the annual premium taxes levied thereby, and that such provisions would have been enacted even though the Legislature had known this credit section would be held invalid.

(4) This section shall apply to taxes accruing and investments existing from and after July 1, 1985.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.