LAC 61:I.6113 — Application of the Tax Credit

A. Prior to claiming a tax credit on any tax return, or transferring any tax credit, a person must apply for and obtain a final certification. The investor tax credit may be earned, transferred, allocated, and claimed as follows.
1. Earn. Individuals or entities may earn investor tax credits pursuant to R.S. 47:6007(C)(1).
a. Once tax credits are earned by an individual or entity, such individual or entity and any subsequent transferee, may transfer or allocate the investor tax credits.
2. Transfer. Any motion picture investor tax credits not previously claimed by any taxpayer against its income tax may be transferred or sold to another Louisiana taxpayer or to the office, pursuant to R.S. 47:6007(C)(4).
a. A single transfer or sale may involve one or more transferees. Transferors and transferees shall submit to the Office and to the Department of Revenue in writing, a notification of any transfer or sale of tax credits within thirty days after the transfer or sale of such credits and shall include a processing fee of two hundred dollars per transferee.
b. If the investor tax credits (evidenced by a certification letter) are transferred to the office:
i. on and after January 1, 2007, and prior to December 31, 2008 the state shall make payment to the investor at a value of 72 percent of the face-value of the credits;
ii. on January 1, 2009, and every second year thereafter, the percent of the value of the tax credits paid by the state shall increase 2 percent until the percentage reaches 80 percent;
iii. for state certified productions which receive initial certification on or after July 1, 2009, the state shall make payment to the investor at a value of 85 percent of the face-value of the credits.
3. Allocate. If the investor tax credits are earned by, or allocated or transferred to, an entity not taxed as a corporation, the entity may allocate the credit by issuing ownership interests to any individuals or other entities on such terms that are agreed to by the relevant parties and in accordance with the terms of the allocating entity’s operating agreement or partnership agreement. These terms may result in the allocation of up to 100 percent of the investor tax credits to any individual or entity regardless of the federal tax treatment of the allocation:
a. the allocating entity:
i. may be treated as a partnership for federal or state tax purposes; or
ii. may be treated as an entity that is disregarded as an entity separate from its owners for federal or state tax purposes, and in which case, each holder may agree that it will not treat the allocating entity as a partnership or itself as a partner or the ownership interest in the allocating entity as a partnership interest for federal tax or state tax purposes.
4. Claim. Tax credits may be claimed as follows:
a. an owner of tax credits may apply the credits to offset an outstanding Louisiana income tax liability for any tax year beginning in the year that the investor initially earned the tax credit or in any year thereafter within the 10 year carry forward period;
b. in the case of tax credits owned (held) by an entity not taxed as a corporation, the credits shall be deemed to flow through or be allocated to partners or members at the end of the tax year in which the entity acquired the credits unless the partnership or membership agreement provides otherwise;
c. any individual or entity shall be allowed to claim the investor tax credit against its Louisiana income tax liability:
i. whether or not any such individual is a Louisiana resident; and
ii. whether or not any such entity is domiciled in Louisiana, organized under Louisiana law, or headquartered in Louisiana;
d. an investor tax credit, in the hands of the taxpayer that earned the credit or received it by flow-through, cannot be used to eliminate any penalties and interest on overdue income taxes from prior tax years:
i. however, an investor tax credit that is purchased is treated as property and can be applied to penalties and interest on overdue income taxes from prior tax years pursuant to R.S. 47:1675(H)(1)(c):
(a). penalties and interest will continue to accrue until the taxes on which such penalties and interest are accruing are paid;
(b). the date of payment is the date that the Louisiana Department of Revenue receives a return from a taxpayer on which the investor tax credits are claimed.
B. If the investor tax credits (evidenced by a tax credit certification letter) are transferred or allocated as provided herein.
1. The transferor shall submit to the office the original certificate of ownership, evidencing the investor tax credits being transferred or allocated, as required by R.S. 47:6007(C)(5).
2. After receipt, the office may issue to each transferee or allocatee, a certificate of ownership signed by the director reflecting:
a. such transferee’s or allocatee's name;
b. the dollar amount of investor tax credits transferred or allocated;
c. the calendar year in which the investor tax credits were originally earned;
d. the state-certified infrastructure project or the state-certified production with respect to which such investor earned the investor tax credits; and
e. the identifying number assigned to such state-certified infrastructure project or state-certified production.
3. If the certificate of ownership submitted evidences more investor tax credits than actually transferred or allocated, then the office may issue an additional certificate of ownership, reflecting any remaining investor tax credit balance.
4. Any person or entity engaged in the business of buying and reselling tax credits may elect to maintain its certificate of ownership on file with the office, such that it need not surrender, and have reissued, its certificate of ownership each time it sells a tax credit.
a. In such cases, the office may issue comporting certificates of ownership to transferees or allocates, designated by the transferor or allocator in writing, until such time as the tax credits represented in the original certificate have been exhausted.
5. Any taxpayer claiming investor tax credits against its Louisiana income tax liability shall submit to the Department of Revenue, with its Louisiana income tax return for the year in which the taxpayer is claiming the investor tax credits, an original certificate of ownership issued by the office or the transfer notice pursuant to this rule, evidencing the dollar amount of the investor tax credits being claimed.
6. The failure of the office to timely issue a certificate of ownership in accordance with this rule shall not:
a. void or otherwise affect, in any way, the legality or validity of any transfer of investor tax credits;
b. prohibit any Louisiana taxpayer from claiming investor tax credits against its Louisiana income tax liability, if the investor tax credits are otherwise transferred or claimed in accordance with R.S. 47: 6007 and these rules; or
c. result in any recapture, forfeiture or other disallowance of investor tax credits under R.S. 47:6007(E) or (F) or otherwise.