Senate File 244 - Introduced





                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  RIELLY


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

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act providing a tax credit for certain small businesses
  2    offering wellness programs to employees and including
  3    effective and applicability date provisions.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 2010SS 83
  6 tw/mg:sc/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  135.27B  WELLNESS PROGRAM TAX
  1  2 CREDIT.
  1  3    1.  a.  A wellness program tax credit shall be allowed
  1  4 against the taxes imposed in chapter 422, divisions II, III,
  1  5 and V, and in chapter 432, and against the moneys and credits
  1  6 tax imposed in section 533.329, for a portion of a taxpayer's
  1  7 costs incurred in providing a certified small business
  1  8 wellness program to employees.
  1  9    b.  The amount of the tax credit shall be fifty percent of
  1 10 the costs incurred in providing a certified small business
  1 11 wellness program to employees.  However, the total amount of
  1 12 the tax credit claimed shall not exceed three hundred dollars
  1 13 per employee per tax year.
  1 14    c.  To be eligible for the tax credit, a small business
  1 15 shall be located in this state, be operated for profit and
  1 16 under a single management, and have at least two but not more
  1 17 than one hundred employees employed for at least fifty percent
  1 18 of the employer's working days during the tax year.
  1 19    d.  An individual may claim a tax credit under this section
  1 20 of a partnership, limited liability company, S corporation,
  1 21 estate, or trust electing to have income taxed directly to the
  1 22 individual.  The amount claimed by the individual shall be
  1 23 based upon the pro rata share of the individual's earnings
  1 24 from the partnership, limited liability company, S
  1 25 corporation, estate, or trust.
  1 26    e.  Any tax credit in excess of the taxpayer's liability
  1 27 for the tax year is not refundable, but the taxpayer may elect
  1 28 to have the excess credited to the tax liability for the
  1 29 following five years or until depleted, whichever is earlier.
  1 30 A tax credit shall not be carried back to a tax year prior to
  1 31 the tax year in which the taxpayer first receives the tax
  1 32 credit.
  1 33    f.  A taxpayer claiming a credit under this section shall
  1 34 not be precluded, in computing taxable income, from deducting
  1 35 the amount of costs for providing a wellness program allowed
  2  1 under any provision of the Internal Revenue Code.
  2  2    2.  To claim a wellness program tax credit under this
  2  3 section, a taxpayer must attach a tax credit certificate
  2  4 issued by the department verifying the taxpayer's eligibility
  2  5 for the credit.  The tax credit certificate attached to the
  2  6 taxpayer's tax return shall be issued in the taxpayer's name,
  2  7 contain an expiration date that falls on or after the last day
  2  8 of the taxable year for which the taxpayer is claiming the tax
  2  9 credit, and show a tax credit amount equal to or greater than
  2 10 the tax credit claimed on the taxpayer's tax return.
  2 11    3.  a.  The department shall accept applications from
  2 12 eligible small businesses for wellness program tax credits.
  2 13    b.  If the department determines that a wellness program
  2 14 qualifies for a tax credit pursuant to this section, the
  2 15 department shall issue a wellness program tax credit
  2 16 certificate to be attached to the small business's tax return.
  2 17 The tax credit certificate shall contain the taxpayer's name,
  2 18 address, tax identification number, the number of employees,
  2 19 the total costs incurred in providing the wellness program,
  2 20 and any other information required by the department of
  2 21 revenue.
  2 22    c.  The tax credit certificate, unless otherwise void,
  2 23 shall be accepted by the department of revenue as payment for
  2 24 taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 422, divisions II, III, and
  2 25 V, chapter 432, and section 533.329, subject to any conditions
  2 26 or restrictions placed by the department upon the face of the
  2 27 tax credit and subject to the limitations of this section.
  2 28    d.  Tax credits issued under this section are not
  2 29 transferable to any person or entity.
  2 30    4.  The department shall not issue a tax credit certificate
  2 31 under this section unless the wellness program offered by a
  2 32 small business provides for all of the following:
  2 33    a.  The development of measurable positive health outcomes
  2 34 for employees participating in the wellness program.
  2 35    b.  Regular health risk factor assessments and a treatment
  3  1 regimen designed to address health risk factors.  For purposes
  3  2 of this paragraph, "health risk factor" means a condition with
  3  3 the potential to negatively affect a person's health or bodily
  3  4 well=being.  Health risk factors include but are not limited
  3  5 to cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, or blood pressure
  3  6 levels that are outside the ranges for such measurements
  3  7 recommended by the centers for disease control and prevention
  3  8 of the United State department of health and human services.
  3  9    c.  Smoking cessation education that covers all of the
  3 10 cessation treatments and counseling approved by the United
  3 11 States food and drug administration.  Smoking cessation
  3 12 education may be provided by direct payment on an employee's
  3 13 behalf, reimbursement of costs, or by the purchase of
  3 14 insurance coverage providing for such education.
  3 15    d.  Weight loss education that addresses both nutrition and
  3 16 physical activity.
  3 17    e.  Preventative care education, including information
  3 18 about immunization, promotion of physical activity,
  3 19 nutritional counseling, and stress management techniques.
  3 20    f.  Disease management services that identify diseases
  3 21 before onset and treat diseases after onset.
  3 22    5.  The department may charge a fee in an amount not to
  3 23 exceed fifty dollars per application for costs incurred in the
  3 24 administration of this section.
  3 25    6.  The department shall adopt rules in accordance with
  3 26 chapter 17A for the administration of this section, including
  3 27 rules governing the application process and the criteria used
  3 28 to evaluate applications.
  3 29    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  422.11X  WELLNESS PROGRAM TAX
  3 30 CREDIT.
  3 31    The taxes imposed under this division, less the credits
  3 32 allowed under section 422.12, shall be reduced by a wellness
  3 33 program tax credit allowed under section 135.27B.
  3 34    Sec. 3.  Section 422.33, Code 2009, is amended by adding
  3 35 the following new subsection:
  4  1    NEW SUBSECTION.  27.  The taxes imposed under this division
  4  2 shall be reduced by a wellness program tax credit allowed
  4  3 under section 135.27B.
  4  4    Sec. 4.  Section 422.60, Code 2009, is amended by adding
  4  5 the following new subsection:
  4  6    NEW SUBSECTION.  15.  The taxes imposed under this division
  4  7 shall be reduced by a wellness program tax credit allowed
  4  8 under section 135.27B.
  4  9    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  432.12M  WELLNESS PROGRAM TAX
  4 10 CREDIT.
  4 11    The taxes imposed under this chapter shall be reduced by a
  4 12 wellness program tax credit allowed under section 135.27B.
  4 13    Sec. 6.  Section 533.329, subsection 2, Code 2009, is
  4 14 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  4 15    NEW PARAGRAPH.  n.  The moneys and credits tax imposed
  4 16 under this section shall be reduced by a wellness program tax
  4 17 credit allowed under section 135.27B.
  4 18    Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE AND APPLICABILITY DATE.  This Act takes
  4 19 effect January 1, 2010, for tax years beginning on or after
  4 20 that date.
  4 21                           EXPLANATION
  4 22    This bill provides a credit against the individual and
  4 23 corporate income taxes, franchise tax, insurance premiums tax,
  4 24 and moneys and credits tax for a portion of a taxpayer's costs
  4 25 incurred in providing a certified small business wellness
  4 26 program to employees.
  4 27    The amount of the tax credit is 50 percent of the costs
  4 28 incurred in providing a certified small business wellness
  4 29 program to employees, but the total amount of the credit
  4 30 claimed cannot exceed $300 per employee per year.
  4 31    To be eligible for the tax credit, a small business must be
  4 32 located in the state, be operated for profit and under a
  4 33 single management, and have at least two but not more than 100
  4 34 employees employed for at least 50 percent of the employer's
  4 35 working days during the tax year.
  5  1    The tax credit is not refundable, but the taxpayer may
  5  2 elect to have the excess credited to the tax liability for the
  5  3 following five years or until depleted, whichever is earlier.
  5  4 A tax credit shall not be carried back to a tax year prior to
  5  5 the tax year in which the taxpayer first receives the tax
  5  6 credit.  The tax credit is not transferable.
  5  7    To claim a certified wellness program tax credit under this
  5  8 section, a taxpayer must attach a tax credit certificate
  5  9 issued by the department of public health verifying the
  5 10 taxpayer's eligibility for the credit.
  5 11    The department will issue a tax credit certificate if the
  5 12 wellness program offered by the small business provides for
  5 13 all of the following:  (1) measurable positive health
  5 14 outcomes, (2) regular health risk factor assessments, (3)
  5 15 smoking cessation education, (4) weight loss education that
  5 16 addresses both nutrition and physical activity, (5)
  5 17 preventative care education, and (6) disease management
  5 18 services.
  5 19    The department may charge a fee in an amount not to exceed
  5 20 $50 per application for administrative costs and is directed
  5 21 to adopt rules for the issuance of the tax credit
  5 22 certificates.
  5 23    The bill takes effect January 1, 2010, for tax years
  5 24 beginning on or after that date.
  5 25 LSB 2010SS 83
  5 26 tw/mg:sc/5