Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. A. Article 25, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-6-3586.
(A) As used in this section:
(1)
'Solar energy system' is a nonresidential system that, as
determined by the State Energy Office, uses solar radiation as a
substitute for traditional energy for water heating, active
space heating and cooling, passive heating, daylighting,
generating electricity not greater than one megawatt alternating
current, distillation, desalination, detoxification, or the
production of industrial or commercial process heat. The term
also includes related devices necessary for collecting, storing,
exchanging, conditioning, or converting solar energy to other
useful forms of energy.
(2)
'Tax liability' includes income taxes imposed pursuant to
this chapter, license taxes imposed pursuant to Chapter 20 of
this title, bank and building and loan taxes imposed pursuant to
Chapters 11 and 13 of this title, and premium taxes imposed
pursuant to Title 38.
(3)
'Department' means the South Carolina Department of
Revenue.
(B)(1) For tax years
beginning after 2013 and before 2017, if a taxpayer that has
constructed, purchased, or leased a nonresidential solar energy
system, the taxpayer, subject to the limitations set forth in
subsection (E), is allowed a credit against his tax liability
equal to twenty-five percent of the cost of the system in the
taxable year in which the system is placed in service.
(2)
The entire credit may not be taken for the taxable year in
which the system is placed in service but must be taken in three
equal annual installments beginning with the taxable year in
which the system is placed in service, and subject to this
annual limit, unused credit may be carried forward for taxable
years four through ten succeeding the year the system was placed
in service.
(3)
If a taxpayer is not allowed all or part of the credit,
the taxpayer would be authorized to receive, because of the
limitations set forth in subsection (E), the carry forward years
provided in item (1) beginning in the year in which all or part
of the credit is first allowed. However, if the credit is not
allowed before tax year 2017, the taxpayer is not eligible to
claim the credit.
(C) If, in one of the
years in which the installment of a credit accrues, the solar
energy system, with respect to which the credit was claimed, is
disposed of, taken out of service, or moved out of State, the
credit expires and the taxpayer may not take any remaining
installment of the credit. A disposition does not include the
sale or assignment of the partnership interests or limited
liability company interests of a partnership or limited
liability company that owns or leases a solar energy system.
The taxpayer, however, may take the portion of an installment
that accrued in a previous year and was carried forward to the
extent permitted pursuant to subsection (B) of this section.
For purposes of calculating the credit, if the solar energy
system was provided, in whole or in part, by public funds, the
amount of public funds expended on the solar energy system shall
not be considered a cost of the system. The amount of any
credit allowed pursuant to this section must be reduced by any
credit claimed pursuant to Section 12-6-3587 or any other credit
allowed pursuant to this title for the solar energy system.
Public funds does not include proceeds of the investment credit
pursuant to Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code, or the
grant in lieu thereof under Section 1603 program administered by
the United States Department of Treasury. In no case may a
credit allowed pursuant to this section exceed one-half of the
taxpayer's tax liability for a taxable year.
(D) The credit allowed
by this section may not exceed three hundred thirty-three
thousand dollars for each solar energy system installation and
the credit may not exceed one million dollars for any
taxpayer.
(E)(1) The total amount
of credits allocated for all taxpayers in a taxable year may not
exceed five million dollars in the aggregate. For purposes of
this subsection, notwithstanding subsection (B), the entire
credit is considered taken in the tax year in which the system
is placed in service.
(2)
If an allocation set forth in this item is not completely
exhausted, the remaining amount may be carried forward by the
department to the next year and used for the same purpose, and
is in addition to the aggregate amount set forth in item (1).
No amount may be carried forward by the department beyond tax
year 2016.
(F) If the taxpayer
leases the solar energy system, or part of the solar energy
system, the taxpayer may transfer any applicable remaining
credit associated with the solar energy system expenses incurred
with respect to that part of the solar energy system to the
lessee of the solar energy system. The provisions of this
subsection apply to a lessee that is an entity taxed as a
partnership.
(G) To the extent that
the taxpayer is a partnership or a limited liability company
taxed as a partnership, the credit may be passed through to the
partners or members and may be allocated by the taxpayer among
any of its partners or members on an annual basis including,
without limitation, an allocation of the entire credit to any
partner or member who was a member or partner at any time during
the year in which the credit is allocated.
(H) This credit is in
no way to imply or allow the third party sale of electricity
between parties nor does this section modify the provisions of
Title 58 in any way and lessee simply refers to the financial
structuring of the payment for the 'solar energy system'.
(I)(1) After the system
is placed in service, a taxpayer seeking to claim the credit
provided in this section must submit an application to the State
Energy Office for tentative approval of the credit. Within
forty-five days of receipt of the application, the State Energy
Office must review the application and tentatively shall approve
the application upon determining that the taxpayer qualifies for
the credit, and only if the aggregate credit, pursuant to
subsection (E), has not yet been reached for the taxable year.
The State Energy Office shall notify the applicant whether all
or part of the credit may be claimed and the amount that may be
claimed in the current year. Also, the State Energy Office
shall forward the notice to the department.
(2)
The credit is allowed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
In no event shall the aggregate amount of tax credits approved
by the State Energy Office for all taxpayers in a taxable year
exceed the limitations specified in subsection (E). For tax
years 2014 and 2015, in the event the taxpayer timely files an
application for the credit but is not allowed all or part of the
credit the taxpayer would be authorized to receive because of
the limitations set forth in subsection (E), the taxpayer must
be added to a priority waiting list of applications, prioritized
by the date of the taxpayer's first filed application. With
respect to the credit allocation in subsequent years, a taxpayer
on the priority waiting list shall have priority over other
taxpayers who apply for the credit for an installation in the
subsequent year. For purposes of subsection (E), if a taxpayer
on the priority waiting list is allowed the credit in a taxable
year after the system is placed in service, then the entire
credit is considered taken in the year in which the credit is
first allowed.
(J)(1) The department,
in consultation with the State Energy Office, shall develop an
application form. Also, the department and the State Energy
Office shall adopt rules to provide for the administration of
this credit. The State Energy Office, with assistance from the
department, shall create a mechanism to track and report the
status and availability of credits for the public to review on a
regular basis, as determined by the State Energy Office.
(2)
There is a nonrefundable application fee equal to one
percent of the credit applied for, but no more than two thousand
five hundred dollars. The fee must accompany the application.
The fee shall be credited to the State Energy Office and shall
be used to meet the requirements of this section.
(K) In addition to the
carry forward of unused credit allowed pursuant to this section,
unused credit may be transferred, devised, or distributed, with
or without consideration, by an individual, partnership, limited
liability company, corporation, trust, or estate. To be
effective, such a transfer, devise, or distribution requires
written notification to and approval by the department with the
unused credit maintaining all its original attributes in the
hands of the original recipient including, but not limited to,
the limit on the amount by which the taxpayer's tax liability
may be reduced. With regard to the sale or exchange of a credit
allowed pursuant to this section, general income tax principles
apply for purposes of the state income tax.
(L) Not later than June
1, 2015, and by June first each year thereafter, the State
Energy Office shall prepare a report detailing:
(1)
the number of taxpayers applying for the credit, the
amount applied for, and the system sizes, including the total
cost of the system installed against which the credit is being
claimed, and the county in which the system was installed;
(2)
the number of taxpayers allocated the credit, the amount
allocated, and the system sizes, including the total cost of the
system installed against which the credit is being claimed, and
the county in which the system was installed;
(3)
the number of taxpayers denied the credit based on an
ineligibility determination by the department; and
(4)
the number of taxpayers eligible for the credit, but
placed on the waiting list due to the limitations set forth in
subsection (E).
The report shall be
delivered to the Governor, the Chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
the Public Utilities Review Committee, the Public Service
Commission, and the Office of Regulatory Staff. The report also
must be made available in a conspicuous place on the website
maintained by the State Energy Office."
B.
This SECTION applies to solar energy systems placed in
service in taxable years beginning after 2013 and before 2017.
SECTION 2. A. Section 12-6-3587(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(A) There is allowed as a tax credit against the income tax liability of a taxpayer imposed by this chapter an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the costs incurred by the taxpayer in the purchase and installation of a solar energy system or small hydropower system for heating water, space heating, air cooling, energy-efficient daylighting, heat reclamation, energy-efficient demand response, or the generation of electricity in or on a facility in South Carolina and owned by the taxpayer. The tax credit allowed by this section must not be claimed before the completion of the installation. The credit is allowed without regard to whether or not the owner-taxpayer occupies the installation site. The amount of the credit in any year may not exceed three thousand five hundred dollars for each facility or fifty percent of the taxpayer's tax liability for that taxable year, whichever is less. If the amount of the credit exceeds three thousand five hundred dollars for each facility, the taxpayer may carry forward the excess for up to ten years."
B. Section 12-6-3587 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding a subsection at the end to read:
"(D) With respect to solar energy systems, this section only applies to a system placed in service after tax year 2005 and before tax year 2017."
SECTION 3. Except where otherwise provided, this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.