Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
301 CMR 16.05 describes the process for application for and
authorization of tax credits for Qualified Renovation Expenditures for CTCY
2023 and all following calendar tax credit years.
(1)
Application
Period. The Secretary will announce the date each year when the
Secretary will begin to accept Applications for Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax
Credits for the following CTCY and the deadline by which Applications must be
received to be eligible for the lottery selection process set forth in 301 CMR
16.05(3). The Secretary will accept Applications received after the deadline,
but these Applications are ineligible for the lottery selection process
described in 301 CMR 16.05(3).
(2)
Project Period. Applications shall include estimated
Qualified Renovation expenditures proposed to be made during a Project Period
that begins no earlier than October 1st of the year
prior to the CTCY applied for and ends no later than December
31st of the CTCY being applied for. The Secretary
shall authorize a tax credit only for Qualified Renovation Expenditures
incurred during such Project Period, and any such expenditures incurred during
such Project Period shall be treated as made during the CTCY for which the
Application was made.
(3)
Lottery Selection. The Secretary will conduct a
lottery selection process to establish the priority order for authorization of
Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credits for the following CTCY.
(a) The Secretary shall announce the lottery
date and procedure each year, which shall randomly select Applications to
establish the order in which the Secretary will certify Cranberry Bog
Renovation Tax Credits.
(b) The
order of the lottery selection list shall be determined independently for each
CTCY based on the applications received for that CTCY, and the order of the
list shall not carry over to future years.
(c) The lottery procedure shall require the
Secretary to designate each Application as either a Level 1 or a Level 2
Application for purposes of the lottery selection. For CTCY 2023, all
applications shall be designated as Level 1 Applications. For each subsequent
CTCY, Level 1 Applications shall be those Applications submitted by Applicants
for whom the Secretary did not authorize a Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credit
of more than $35,000 for the year immediately prior to the CTCY applied for,
and Level 2 Applications shall be all other Applications.
(d) The Secretary shall first conduct a
lottery for all Level 1 Applications and add such Applications to the lottery
selection list in the order selected. Upon completion of the lottery for all
Level 1 Applications, the Secretary shall then conduct a lottery of all Level 2
applications and add such Applications to the lottery selection list in the
order selected.
(e) The Secretary
shall add Applications received after the deadline for lottery eligibility to
the end of the lottery selection list in the order
received.
(4)
Notification of Eligibility. The Secretary shall
determine whether an Application includes all information required by 301 CMR
16.04 and shall notify the Applicant in writing of any required information
that must be submitted for the Application to be complete. An Applicant may
provide supplementary material to complete an application within 15 business
days of transmission of such notification, or within such additional time as
the Secretary may provide. Failure by an Applicant to submit information
required to complete an Application within the time limit provided, or failure
to provide all information required to complete an application, shall
constitute withdrawal of that Application.
The Secretary shall review a complete Application to determine
whether the Applicant is an eligible applicant pursuant to 301 CMR 16.03 and
each proposed expenditure is a Qualified Renovation Expenditure. The Secretary
shall provide a notification of eligibility to the Applicant, in writing, which
shall include:
(a) whether the
Applicant is eligible, and if not eligible, the reason therefor;
(b) the proposed expenditures that are
Qualified Renovation Expenditures and, if any proposed expenditures are not
Qualified Renovation Expenditures, the reason therefor;
(c) the total amount of the Applicant's
proposed Qualified Renovation Expenditures;
(d) the Applicant's place on the lottery
selection list; and
(e) the
Applicant's opportunity to provide supplemental information for
reconsideration.
(5)
Reconsideration. If the Secretary determines that an
Applicant is ineligible or that any proposed expenditures are not Qualified
Renovation Expenditures, an Applicant may provide supplemental information to
the Secretary within 15 days of transmission of the Secretary's notification of
eligibility, or within such additional time as the Secretary may provide. Said
supplemental information shall be in writing and shall include documentation
and reasoning to demonstrate why the Applicant is eligible or why the proposed
expenditures are Qualified Renovation Expenditures. The Secretary shall
reconsider the Application and issue a final notification of
eligibility.
(6)
Determination of Tax Credit Availability.
(a) The Secretary shall remove from the
lottery selection list any Application that is withdrawn or for which a final
decision has been reached determining that the Applicant is not an eligible
applicant or has proposed no Qualified Renovation Expenditures.
(b) The Secretary shall determine, in the
order of the lottery selection list and based on final determinations of
Qualified Renovation Expenditures pursuant to 301 CMR 16.05(4) and (5), whether
funding is available as a tax credit for each applicant.
(c) The Secretary shall provide a
determination of tax credit availability to an Applicant, in writing, when
funding will be available as a tax credit for the Applicant's Qualified
Renovation Expenditures for a given CTCY. This determination shall indicate the
amount of the tax credit that the Secretary will authorize for the Applicant
and procedures for authorization.
(d) The Secretary shall notify an Applicant,
in writing, when he or she finds that funding may not be available as a tax
credit for an Application.
(7)
Authorization.
(a) An Applicant that has received a
determination of tax credit availability may submit its Qualified Renovation
Expenditures to the Secretary for authorization of the associated tax credit on
or before the date specified by the Secretary. An Applicant shall submit
sufficient documentation of all expenditures to enable the Secretary to
determine that each expenditure is a Qualified Renovation Expenditure and
within the scope of the determination of tax credit availability and the
Application reviewed by the Secretary for that CTCY. Such documentation shall
include, but is not necessarily limited to: invoices; proof that materials and
services were provided during the Project Period; proof of payments; and
demonstration of how expenditures relate to the Application.
(b) The Secretary shall review such
submissions and calculate the tax credit for each Applicant, which shall not
exceed $100,000 or the amount specified in the determination of tax credit
eligibility except as provided in 301 CMR 16.05(7)(c).
(c) If the sum of all tax credits calculated
for a CTCY pursuant to 301 CMR 16.05(7)(b) is less than the Annual Program Cap,
the Secretary may authorize tax credits for Qualified Renovation Expenditures
actually incurred that exceed the Qualified Renovation Expenditures estimated
in an Application or may authorize tax credits for Applicants who did not
receive a Determination of Tax Credit Availability; provided, however, that the
Secretary shall not authorize a tax credit greater than $100,000 for any
Applicant in a CTCY. The Secretary shall allocate tax credits to Applicants
under 301 CMR 16.05(7)(c) based on lottery position and such other factors as
the Secretary may determine.
(d)
The Secretary shall authorize tax credits in the amounts calculated by
notifying the Applicant and the Commissioner of the amount of the tax credit
that it authorizes for each Applicant. The Secretary shall include in such
notification:
1. a unique Cranberry Bog
Renovation Tax Credit Certificate Number for use in tax filing;
2. the CTCY to which that certificate number
applies; and
3. such other
information as may be required for the Applicant to claim the tax
credit.
