2007 Minnesota Statutes

469.171 STATE TAX REDUCTIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Authorized types. The following types of tax reductions may be approved by
the commissioner for businesses located in an enterprise zone:
(1) an exemption from the general sales tax imposed by chapter 297A for purchases of
construction materials or equipment for use in the zone if the purchase was made after the date
of application for the zone;
(2) a credit against the income tax of an employer for additional workers employed in the
zone, other than workers employed in construction, up to a maximum of $3,000 per employee
per year;
(3) an income tax credit for a percentage of the cost of debt financing to construct new or
expanded facilities in the zone; and
(4) a state paid property tax credit for a portion of the property taxes paid by a new
commercial or industrial facility or the additional property taxes paid by an expansion of an
existing commercial or industrial facility in the zone.
    Subd. 2. Municipality to specify. The municipality shall specify in its application for
designation the types of tax reductions it seeks to be made available in the zone and the percentage
rates and other appropriate limitations on the reductions.
    Subd. 3. Commissioner of revenue action. Upon designation of an enterprise zone
and approval by the commissioner of the tax reductions to be made available therein, the
commissioner of revenue shall implement the tax reductions.
    Subd. 4. Restriction. The tax reductions provided by this section shall not apply to (1) a
facility the primary purpose of which is one of the following: retail food and beverage services,
automobile sales or service, or the provision of recreation or entertainment, or a private or
commercial golf course, country club, massage parlor, tennis club, skating facility including roller
skating, skateboard, and ice skating, racquet sports facility, including any handball or racquetball
court, hot tub facility, suntan facility, or racetrack; (2) property of a public utility; (3) property
used in the operation of a financial institution; (4) property owned by a fraternal or veterans'
organization; or (5) property of a business operating under a franchise agreement that requires the
business to be located in the state; except that, in an enterprise zone designated under section
469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), that is not in a city of the first class, tax reductions may
be provided to a retail food or beverage facility or an automobile sales or service facility, or a
business operating under a franchise agreement that requires the business to be located in this
state except for such a franchised retail food or beverage facility.
    Subd. 5. Border city areas. The commissioner shall approve tax reductions authorized by
subdivision 1 within a border city zone only after the governing body of a city designated as an
enterprise zone has designated an area or areas, each consisting of at least 100 acres, of the city
not in excess of 400 acres in which the tax reductions may be provided.
    Subd. 6. Additional border city tax reductions. In addition to the tax reductions authorized
by subdivision 1, for a border city zone, the following types of tax reductions may be approved:
(1) a credit against income tax for workers employed in the zone and not qualifying for a
credit under subdivision 1, clause (2), subject to a maximum of $1,500 per employee per year;
(2) a state paid property tax credit for a portion of the property taxes paid by a commercial or
industrial facility located in the zone.
    Subd. 6a. Additional border city allocations. In addition to tax reductions authorized
in section 469.169, subdivisions 7 and 8, the commissioner may allocate $2,000,000 for tax
reductions pursuant to subdivision 9 to enterprise zones designated under section 469.168,
subdivision 4, paragraph (c) , except for zones located in cities of the first class. This money
shall be allocated among the zones on a per capita basis. Limits on the maximum allocation to
a zone imposed by section 469.169, subdivision 7, do not apply to allocations made under this
subdivision. Tax reductions authorized by this subdivision may not be allocated to any property
which is:
(1) a facility the primary purpose of which is one of the following: the provision of recreation
or entertainment, or a private or commercial golf course, country club, massage parlor, tennis
club, skating facility including roller skating, skateboard, and ice skating, racquet sports facility,
including any handball or racquetball court, hot tub facility, suntan facility, or racetrack;
(2) property of a public utility;
(3) property used in the operation of a financial institution;
(4) property owned by a fraternal or veterans' organization;
(5) property of a retail food or beverage service business operating under a franchise
agreement that requires the business to be located in the state.
    Subd. 6b. Additional border city allocations. In addition to tax reduction authorized under
section 469.169, subdivisions 7 and 8, and under subdivision 6a, the commissioner may allocate
$1,000,000 for tax reductions as provided in this section to enterprise zones designated under
section 469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), except for zones located in cities of the first class.
The money shall be allocated among the zones on a per capita basis. Limits on the maximum
allocation to a zone imposed by section 469.169, subdivision 7, do not apply to allocations made
under this subdivision.
    Subd. 7. Duration. Each tax reduction provided to a business pursuant to this subdivision
shall terminate not longer than five years after the effective date of the tax reduction for the
business unless the business is located in a border city enterprise zone designated under section
469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), that is not a city of the first class. Each tax reduction
provided to a business that is located in a border city enterprise zone designated under section
469.168, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), that is not located in a city of the first class, may be
provided until the allocations provided under subdivision 6a, and under section 469.169,
subdivisions 7 and 8 , have been expended. Subject to the limitation in this subdivision, the tax
reductions may be provided after expiration of the zone's designation.
    Subd. 7a. Property tax credit; appropriation. There is annually appropriated from
the general fund to the commissioner of revenue the amounts required to reimburse taxing
jurisdictions for the revenue lost due to the property tax credit provided in subdivision 1, clause
(4). Payment shall be made to taxing jurisdictions in the same proportion that the ad valorem tax
is distributed. Payment shall be made to taxing jurisdictions, other than school districts, at the
time provided in section 473H.10, subdivision 3.
    Subd. 8. Refundable credits. The income tax credits provided pursuant to subdivisions 1
and 6 may be refundable.
    Subd. 9. Recapture. Any business that (1) receives tax reductions authorized by subdivisions
1 to 8, classification as employment property pursuant to section 469.170, or an alternative local
contribution under section 469.169, subdivision 5; and (2) ceases to operate its facility located
within the enterprise zone shall repay the amount of the tax reduction or local contribution
received during the two years immediately before it ceased to operate in the zone.
The repayment must be paid to the state to the extent it represents a tax reduction under
subdivisions 1 to 8 and to the municipality to the extent it represents a property tax reduction or
other local contribution. Any amount repaid to the state must be credited to the amount certified
as available for tax reductions in the zone pursuant to section 469.169, subdivision 7. Any amount
repaid to the municipality must be used by the municipality for economic development purposes.
The commissioner of revenue may seek repayment of tax credits from a business ceasing to
operate within an enterprise zone by utilizing any remedies available for the collection of tax.
    Subd. 10. Interest. When tax credits allowed under subdivisions 1 to 8 result in an
overpayment within the meaning of section 289A.50, the excess to be refunded to the taxpayer
shall bear interest at the amount specified in section 270C.405, computed from 90 days after
(1) the due date of the return or (2) the date on which the return is filed, whichever is later, to
the date the refund is paid.
    Subd. 11. Limitations; last eight months of duration. This subdivision applies only to state
tax reductions first authorized by the municipality to be provided to a business within eight
months of the expiration of the enterprise zone's designation.
Before agreeing with a business to provide tax reductions, the municipality must submit the
proposed tax reductions to the commissioner for approval. The commissioner shall review and
analyze the proposal in light of, at least: (1) the proposed investment that the business will make
in the zone, (2) the number and quality of new jobs that will be created in the zone, (3) the
overall positive impact on economic activity in the zone, and (4) the extent to which the impacts
in clauses (1) to (3) are dependent upon providing the state tax reductions to the business. The
commissioner shall disapprove the proposal if the commissioner determines the public benefits
of increased investment and employment resulting from the tax reductions is disproportionately
small relative to the cost of the state tax reductions. If the commissioner disapproves of the
proposal, the tax reductions are not allowed to the business.
If the municipality submits the proposal to the commissioner before expiration of the zone
designation, the authority to grant the tax reductions continues until the commissioner acts on the
proposal.
History: 1987 c 268 art 10 s 3-6; 1987 c 291 s 172,243; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 9 s 64; art 17 s
15; 1990 c 480 art 1 s 46; 1990 c 604 art 3 s 41; art 10 s 19; 1991 c 291 art 21 s 15; 1998 c
389 art 12 s 5; 2005 c 151 art 2 s 17