Section 122.173. Grant against tax for new manufacturing machinery purchase

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Manufacturing machinery and equipment" means engines and machinery, and tools and implements, of every kind used, or designed to be used, in refining and manufacturing. "Manufacturing machinery and equipment" does not include property acquired after December 31, 1999, that is used:

(a) For the transmission and distribution of electricity;

(b) For the generation of electricity, if fifty per cent or more of the electricity that the property generates is consumed, during the one-hundred-twenty-month period commencing with the date the property is placed in service, by persons that are not related members to the person who generates the electricity.

(2) "New manufacturing machinery and equipment" means manufacturing machinery and equipment, the original use in this state of which commences with the taxpayer or with a partnership of which the taxpayer is a partner. "New manufacturing machinery and equipment" does not include property acquired after December 31, 1999, that is used:

(a) For the transmission and distribution of electricity;

(b) For the generation of electricity, if fifty per cent or more of the electricity that the property generates is consumed, during the one-hundred-twenty-month period commencing with the date the property is placed in service, by persons that are not related members to the person who generates the electricity.

(3)

(a) "Purchase" has the same meaning as in section 179(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(b) For purposes of this section, any property that is not manufactured or assembled primarily by the taxpayer is considered purchased at the time the agreement to acquire the property becomes binding. Any property that is manufactured or assembled primarily by the taxpayer is considered purchased at the time the taxpayer places the property in service in the county for which the taxpayer will calculate the county excess amount.

(c) Notwithstanding section 179(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, a taxpayer's direct or indirect acquisition of new manufacturing machinery and equipment is not purchased on or after July 1, 1995, if the taxpayer, or a person whose relationship to the taxpayer is described in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of section 179(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, had directly or indirectly entered into a binding agreement to acquire the property at any time prior to July 1, 1995.

(4) "Qualifying period" means the period that begins July 1, 1995, and ends June 30, 2005.

(5) "County average new manufacturing machinery and equipment investment" means either of the following:

(a) The average annual cost of new manufacturing machinery and equipment purchased for use in the county during baseline years, in the case of a taxpayer that was in existence for more than one year during baseline years.

(b) Zero, in the case of a taxpayer that was not in existence for more than one year during baseline years.

(6) "Partnership" includes a limited liability company formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code or under the laws of any other state, provided that the company is not classified for federal income tax purposes as an association taxable as a corporation.

(7) "Partner" includes a member of a limited liability company formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code or under the laws of any other state, provided that the company is not classified for federal income tax purposes as an association taxable as a corporation.

(8) "Distressed area" means either a municipal corporation that has a population of at least fifty thousand or a county that meets two of the following criteria of economic distress, or a municipal corporation the majority of the population of which is situated in such a county:

(a) Its average rate of unemployment, during the most recent five-year period for which data are available, is equal to at least one hundred twenty-five per cent of the average rate of unemployment for the United States for the same period;

(b) It has a per capita income equal to or below eighty per cent of the median county per capita income of the United States as determined by the most recently available figures from the United States census bureau;

(c)

(i) In the case of a municipal corporation, at least twenty per cent of the residents have a total income for the most recent census year that is below the official poverty line;

(ii) In the case of a county, in intercensal years, the county has a ratio of transfer payment income to total county income equal to or greater than twenty-five per cent.

(9) "Eligible area" means a distressed area, a labor surplus area, an inner city area, or a situational distress area.

(10) "Inner city area" means, in a municipal corporation that has a population of at least one hundred thousand and does not meet the criteria of a labor surplus area or a distressed area, targeted investment areas established by the municipal corporation within its boundaries that are comprised of the most recent census block tracts that individually have at least twenty per cent of their population at or below the state poverty level or other census block tracts contiguous to such census block tracts.

(11) "Labor surplus area" means an area designated as a labor surplus area by the United States department of labor.

(12) "Official poverty line" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 3923.51 of the Revised Code.

(13) "Situational distress area" means a county or a municipal corporation that has experienced or is experiencing a closing or downsizing of a major employer that will adversely affect the county's or municipal corporation's economy. In order to be designated as a situational distress area, for a period not to exceed thirty-six months, the county or municipal corporation may petition the director of development. The petition shall include written documentation that demonstrates all of the following adverse effects on the local economy:

(a) The number of jobs lost by the closing or downsizing;

(b) The impact that the job loss has on the county's or municipal corporation's unemployment rate as measured by the state director of job and family services;

(c) The annual payroll associated with the job loss;

(d) The amount of state and local taxes associated with the job loss;

(e) The impact that the closing or downsizing has on suppliers located in the county or municipal corporation.

(14) "Cost" has the same meaning and limitation as in section 179(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(15) "Baseline years" means:

(a) Calendar years 1992, 1993, and 1994, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(b) Calendar years 1993, 1994, and 1995, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 1999 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(c) Calendar years 1994, 1995, and 1996, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 2000 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(d) Calendar years 1995, 1996, and 1997, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 2001 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(e) Calendar years 1996, 1997, and 1998, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 2002 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(f) Calendar years 1997, 1998, and 1999, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 2003 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(g) Calendar years 1998, 1999, and 2000, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase during calendar year 2004 of new manufacturing machinery and equipment;

(h) Calendar years 1999, 2000, and 2001, with regard to a grant claimed for the purchase on or after January 1, 2005, and on or before June 30, 2005, of new manufacturing machinery and equipment.

(16) "Related member" has the same meaning as in section 5733.042 of the Revised Code.

(17) "Qualifying controlled group" has the same meaning as in section 5733.04 of the Revised Code.

(18) "Tax liability" has the same meaning as in section 122.172 of the Revised Code.

(B)

(1) Subject to divisions (I) and (J) of this section, a grant is allowed against the tax imposed by section 5733.06 or 5747.02 of the Revised Code for a taxpayer that purchases new manufacturing machinery and equipment during the qualifying period, provided that the new manufacturing machinery and equipment are installed in this state not later than June 30, 2006.

(2)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this section, a grant may be claimed under this section in excess of one million dollars only if the cost of all manufacturing machinery and equipment owned in this state by the taxpayer claiming the grant on the last day of the calendar year exceeds the cost of all manufacturing machinery and equipment owned in this state by the taxpayer on the first day of that calendar year.

As used in division (B)(2)(a) of this section, "calendar year" means the calendar year in which the machinery and equipment for which the grant is claimed was purchased.

(b) Division (B)(2)(a) of this section does not apply if the taxpayer claiming the grant applies for and is issued a waiver of the requirement of that division. A taxpayer may apply to the director of development for such a waiver in the manner prescribed by the director, and the director may issue such a waiver if the director determines that granting the grant is necessary to increase or retain employees in this state, and that the grant has not caused relocation of manufacturing machinery and equipment among counties within this state for the primary purpose of qualifying for the grant.

(C)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) and division (I) of this section, the grant amount is equal to seven and one-half per cent of the excess of the cost of the new manufacturing machinery and equipment purchased during the calendar year for use in a county over the county average new manufacturing machinery and equipment investment for that county.

(2) Subject to division (I) of this section, as used in division (C)(2) of this section, "county excess" means the taxpayer's excess cost for a county as computed under division (C)(1) of this section.

Subject to division (I) of this section, a taxpayer with a county excess, whose purchases included purchases for use in any eligible area in the county, the grant amount is equal to thirteen and one-half per cent of the cost of the new manufacturing machinery and equipment purchased during the calendar year for use in the eligible areas in the county, provided that the cost subject to the thirteen and one-half per cent rate shall not exceed the county excess. If the county excess is greater than the cost of the new manufacturing machinery and equipment purchased during the calendar year for use in eligible areas in the county, the grant amount also shall include an amount equal to seven and one-half per cent of the amount of the difference.

(3) If a taxpayer is allowed a grant for purchases of new manufacturing machinery and equipment in more than one county or eligible area, it shall aggregate the amount of those grants each year.

(4) Except as provided in division (J) of this section, the taxpayer shall claim one-seventh of the grant amount for the taxable year ending in the calendar year in which the new manufacturing machinery and equipment is purchased for use in the county by the taxpayer or partnership. One-seventh of the taxpayer grant amount is allowed for each of the six ensuing taxable years. Except for carried-forward amounts, the taxpayer is not allowed any grant amount remaining if the new manufacturing machinery and equipment is sold by the taxpayer or partnership or is transferred by the taxpayer or partnership out of the county before the end of the seven-year period unless, at the time of the sale or transfer, the new manufacturing machinery and equipment has been fully depreciated for federal income tax purposes.

(5)

(a) A taxpayer that acquires manufacturing machinery and equipment as a result of a merger with the taxpayer with whom commenced the original use in this state of the manufacturing machinery and equipment, or with a taxpayer that was a partner in a partnership with whom commenced the original use in this state of the manufacturing machinery and equipment, is entitled to any remaining or carried-forward grant amounts to which the taxpayer was entitled.

(b) A taxpayer that enters into an agreement under division (C)(3) of section 5709.62 of the Revised Code and that acquires manufacturing machinery or equipment as a result of purchasing a large manufacturing facility, as defined in section 5709.61 of the Revised Code, from another taxpayer with whom commenced the original use in this state of the manufacturing machinery or equipment, and that operates the large manufacturing facility so purchased, is entitled to any remaining or carried-forward grant amounts to which the other taxpayer who sold the facility would have been entitled under this section had the other taxpayer not sold the manufacturing facility or equipment.

(c) New manufacturing machinery and equipment is not considered sold if a pass-through entity transfers to another pass-through entity substantially all of its assets as part of a plan of reorganization under which substantially all gain and loss is not recognized by the pass-through entity that is transferring the new manufacturing machinery and equipment to the transferee and under which the transferee's basis in the new manufacturing machinery and equipment is determined, in whole or in part, by reference to the basis of the pass-through entity that transferred the new manufacturing machinery and equipment to the transferee.

(d) Division (C)(5) of this section applies only if the acquiring taxpayer or transferee does not sell the new manufacturing machinery and equipment or transfer the new manufacturing machinery and equipment out of the county before the end of the seven-year period to which division (C)(4) of this section refers.

(e) Division (C)(5)(b) of this section applies only to the extent that the taxpayer that sold the manufacturing machinery or equipment, upon request, timely provides to the tax commissioner any information that the tax commissioner considers to be necessary to ascertain any remaining or carried-forward amounts to which the taxpayer that sold the facility would have been entitled under this section had the taxpayer not sold the manufacturing machinery or equipment. Nothing in division (C)(5)(b) or (e) of this section shall be construed to allow a taxpayer to claim any grant amount with respect to the acquired manufacturing machinery or equipment that is greater than the amount that would have been available to the other taxpayer that sold the manufacturing machinery or equipment had the other taxpayer not sold the manufacturing machinery or equipment.

(D) The taxpayer shall claim the grant allowed by this section in the manner provided by section 122.172 of the Revised Code. Any portion of the grant in excess of the taxpayer's tax liability for the taxable year shall not be refundable but may be carried forward for the next three consecutive taxable years.

(E) A taxpayer purchasing new manufacturing machinery and equipment and intending to claim the grant shall file, with the director of development, a notice of intent to claim the grant on a form prescribed by the director of development. The director of development shall inform the tax commissioner of the notice of intent to claim the grant. No grant may be claimed under this section for any manufacturing machinery and equipment with respect to which a notice was not filed by the date of a timely filed return, including extensions, for the taxable year that includes September 30, 2005, but a notice filed on or before such date under division (E) of section 5733.33 of the Revised Code of the intent to claim the credit under that section also shall be considered a notice of the intent to claim a grant under this section.

(F) The director of development shall annually certify, by the first day of January of each year during the qualifying period, the eligible areas for the tax grant for the calendar year that includes that first day of January. The director shall send a copy of the certification to the tax commissioner.

(G) New manufacturing machinery and equipment for which a taxpayer claims the credit under section 5733.31 or 5733.311 of the Revised Code shall not be considered new manufacturing machinery and equipment for purposes of the grant under this section.

(H)

(1) Notwithstanding sections 5733.11 and 5747.13 of the Revised Code, but subject to division (H)(2) of this section, the tax commissioner may issue an assessment against a person with respect to a grant claimed under this section for new manufacturing machinery and equipment described in division (A)(1)(b) or (2)(b) of this section, if the machinery or equipment subsequently does not qualify for the grant.

(2) Division (H)(1) of this section shall not apply after the twenty-fourth month following the last day of the period described in divisions (A)(1)(b) and (2)(b) of this section.

(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, in the case of a qualifying controlled group, the grant available under this section to a taxpayer or taxpayers in the qualifying controlled group shall be computed as if all corporations in the group were a single corporation. The grant shall be allocated to such a taxpayer or taxpayers in the group in any amount elected for the taxable year by the group. The election shall be revocable and amendable during the period described in division (B) of section 5733.12 of the Revised Code.

This division applies to all purchases of new manufacturing machinery and equipment made on or after January 1, 2001, and to all baseline years used to compute any grant attributable to such purchases; provided, that this division may be applied solely at the election of the qualifying controlled group with respect to all purchases of new manufacturing machinery and equipment made before that date, and to all baseline years used to compute any grant attributable to such purchases. The qualifying controlled group at any time may elect to apply this division to purchases made prior to January 1, 2001, subject to the following:

(1) The election is irrevocable;

(2) The election need not accompany a timely filed report, but the election may accompany a subsequently filed but timely application for refund, a subsequently filed but timely amended report, or a subsequently filed but timely petition for reassessment.

(J) Except as provided in division (B) of section 122.172 of the Revised Code, no grant under this section may be claimed for any taxable year for which a credit is allowed under section 5733.33 of the Revised Code. If the tax imposed by section 5733.06 of the Revised Code for which a grant is allowed under this section has been prorated under division (G)(2) of section 5733.01 of the Revised Code, the grant shall be prorated by the same percentage as the tax.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 208, §1, eff. 11/15/2015.

Effective Date: 06-30-2005