Senate File 216 - Introduced





                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT
                                           AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

                                       (SUCCESSOR TO SF 79)


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act modifying wind energy production tax credit eligibility
  2    requirements, providing for a refund of sales and use taxes,
  3    and including effective and retroactive applicability date
  4    provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  6 TLSB 1671SV 83
  7 rn/mg:sc/8

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 476B.1, subsection 4, paragraph d, Code
  1  2 2009, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    d.  For applications filed on or after March 1, 2008,
  1  4 consists of one or more wind turbines connected to a common
  1  5 gathering line which have a combined nameplate capacity of no
  1  6 less than two megawatts and no more than thirty megawatts.
  1  7    Sec. 2.  Section 476B.4, Code 2009, is amended to read as
  1  8 follows:
  1  9    476B.4  LIMITATIONS LIMITATION.
  1 10    1.  The wind energy production tax credit shall not be
  1 11 allowed for any kilowatt=hour of electricity produced on wind
  1 12 energy conversion property for which the owner has claimed or
  1 13 otherwise received for that property the benefit of special
  1 14 valuation under section 427B.26 or section 441.21, subsection
  1 15 8, or the exemption from retail sales tax under section
  1 16 422.45, subsection 48, Code Supplement 2003, or section 423.3,
  1 17 subsection 54, as applicable.
  1 18    2.  The wind energy production tax credit shall not be
  1 19 allowed for any kilowatt=hour of electricity that is sold to a
  1 20 related person.  For purpose purposes of this subsection
  1 21 section, persons shall be treated as related to each other if
  1 22 such persons would be treated as a single employer under the
  1 23 regulations prescribed under section 52(b) of the Internal
  1 24 Revenue Code.  In the case of a corporation that is a member
  1 25 of an affiliated group of corporations filing a consolidated
  1 26 return, such corporation shall be treated as selling
  1 27 electricity to an unrelated person if such electricity is sold
  1 28 to such a person by another member of such group.
  1 29    Sec. 3.  Section 476B.6, subsection 1, Code 2009, is
  1 30 amended to read as follows:
  1 31    1.  a.  If a city or a county in which a qualified facility
  1 32 is located has enacted an ordinance under section 427B.26 and
  1 33 an owner has filed for and received special valuation pursuant
  1 34 to that ordinance, the owner is not required to obtain
  1 35 approval from the city council or county board of supervisors
  2  1 to apply for the wind energy production tax credit pursuant to
  2  2 subsection 2.
  2  3    a.  b.  (1)  To be eligible to receive the wind energy
  2  4 production tax credit, If neither a city nor a county in which
  2  5 a qualified facility is located has enacted an ordinance under
  2  6 section 427B.26, or a qualified facility is not eligible for
  2  7 special valuation pursuant to an ordinance adopted by a city
  2  8 or a county under section 427B.26, the owner must first
  2  9 receive approval of the applicable city council or county
  2 10 board of supervisors of the city or county in which the
  2 11 qualified facility is located in order to be eligible to
  2 12 receive the wind energy production tax credit.  The
  2 13 application for approval may be submitted prior to
  2 14 commencement of the construction of the qualified facility but
  2 15 shall be submitted no later than the close of the owner's
  2 16 first taxable year for which the credit is to be applied for.
  2 17 The application must contain the owner's name and address, the
  2 18 address of the qualified facility, and the dates of the
  2 19 owner's first and last taxable years for which the credit will
  2 20 be applied for.  Within forty=five days of the receipt of the
  2 21 application for approval, the city council or county board of
  2 22 supervisors, as applicable, shall either approve or disapprove
  2 23 the application.  After the forty=five=day limit time period
  2 24 has expired, the application is deemed to be approved.
  2 25    b.  (2)  Upon approval of the an application submitted
  2 26 pursuant to subparagraph (1), the owner may apply for the tax
  2 27 credit as provided in subsection 2.  In addition, approval of
  2 28 the application submitted pursuant to subparagraph (1) is
  2 29 acceptance by the applicant for the assessment of the
  2 30 qualified facility for property tax purposes for a period of
  2 31 twelve years and approval by the city council or county board
  2 32 of supervisors, as applicable, for the payment of the property
  2 33 taxes levied on the qualified property to the state.  For
  2 34 purposes of property taxation, the qualified facility
  2 35 receiving approval of an application submitted pursuant to
  3  1 subparagraph (1) shall be centrally assessed and shall be
  3  2 exempt from any replacement tax under section 437A.6 for the
  3  3 period during which the facility is subject to property
  3  4 taxation.  The property taxes to be paid to the state are
  3  5 those property taxes which make up the consolidated tax levied
  3  6 on the qualified facility and which are due and payable in the
  3  7 twelve=year period beginning with the first fiscal year
  3  8 beginning on or after the end of the owner's first taxable
  3  9 year for which the credit is applied for.  Upon approval of
  3 10 the application, the city council or county board of
  3 11 supervisors, as applicable, shall notify the county treasurer
  3 12 to state designate on the tax statement which lists the taxes
  3 13 on the qualified facility that the amount of the property
  3 14 taxes shall to be paid to the department.  Payment of the
  3 15 designated property taxes to the department shall be in the
  3 16 same manner as required for the payment of regular property
  3 17 taxes and failure to pay designated property taxes to the
  3 18 department shall be treated the same as failure to pay
  3 19 property taxes to the county treasurer.
  3 20    c.  Once the owner of the qualified facility receives
  3 21 approval under paragraph "a" "b", subsequent approval under
  3 22 paragraph "a" "b" is not required for the same qualified
  3 23 facility for subsequent taxable years.
  3 24    Sec. 4.  REFUNDS.  Refunds of taxes, interest, or penalties
  3 25 which may arise from claims resulting from the amendment of
  3 26 section 476B.4 in this Act, for the exemption of sales of wind
  3 27 energy conversion property as provided in section 423.3,
  3 28 subsection 54, occurring between January 1, 2008, and the
  3 29 effective date of this Act, shall not be allowed unless refund
  3 30 claims are filed prior to October 1, 2009, notwithstanding any
  3 31 other provision of law.  Claimants shall not be entitled to
  3 32 interest on any refunds.
  3 33    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE AND APPLICABILITY DATES.  This Act,
  3 34 being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon
  3 35 enactment and applies retroactively to January 1, 2008, for
  4  1 tax years beginning on or after that date.
  4  2                           EXPLANATION
  4  3    This bill modifies eligibility requirements applicable to
  4  4 the wind energy production tax credit established in Code
  4  5 chapter 476B.
  4  6    The bill provides for a maximum combined nameplate capacity
  4  7 restriction of no more than 30 megawatts for wind energy
  4  8 production facilities applying for the wind energy production
  4  9 tax credit.
  4 10    The bill deletes a provision which had prevented
  4 11 eligibility for the wind energy production tax credit for any
  4 12 kilowatt=hour of electricity produced on wind energy
  4 13 conversion property for which the owner had claimed or
  4 14 received specified special property tax valuation or sales tax
  4 15 exemptions, thus preserving credit availability for owners
  4 16 having received special valuation or having claimed the sales
  4 17 tax exemption.  Because of the retroactivity of the
  4 18 elimination of the restriction of the receipt of the tax
  4 19 credit to those who have not received the sales tax exemption,
  4 20 a provision for refund of sales tax paid is included in the
  4 21 bill.
  4 22    The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies
  4 23 retroactively to January 1, 2008, for tax years beginning on
  4 24 or after that date.
  4 25 LSB 1671SV 83
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