2013 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 51 - Trade and Commerce
RS 51:2457 - Filing claim to receive rebate; determination; repayment

§2457. Filing claim to receive rebate; determination; repayment

A.(1) After the end of the fiscal year of an employer for which an employer has qualified to receive a rebate, the employer shall file an application for the annual rebate as required in R.S. 51:2456 with the Department of Economic Development.

(2) The application shall contain a sworn statement by a duly authorized officer of the employer concerning with respect to the employer's fiscal year:

(a) That the employer remained a qualified employer under the provisions of R.S. 51:2453(2)(b) and (c), and shall state the nature of the employer's qualification.

(b) The total number of and the gross payroll of:

(i) New direct jobs created which were paid a total of at least fourteen dollars and fifty cents per hour inclusive of wages and the value of health care benefits paid or offered at the time the contract was entered into.

(ii) New direct jobs created which were paid a total of at least nineteen dollars and ten cents per hour inclusive of wages and the value of health care benefits paid or offered at the time the contract was entered into.

(c) The number of full-time employees working an average of thirty or more hours per week in new direct jobs.

(d) That the employer had or maintained a net overall increase in employment statewide for each new direct job and the number of such net overall increase, in the case where an employer has contracts covering multiple locations.

(e) That employees holding the new direct jobs:

(i) Were paid wages in cash, which met the other requirements of R.S. 51:2453(5).

(ii) Were domiciled in the state of Louisiana, if required.

(iii) Were not previously on the employer's payroll.

(iv) Were not previously on the payroll of the employer's parent entity, subsidiary, or affiliate, or previously on the payroll of the business whose physical plant and employees were substantially the same as those of the employer.

(v) Did not exist as of the date the employer filed the application for a contract with the Department of Economic Development pursuant to R.S. 51:2455.

(vi) Were not jobs created as a result of job shifts due to the gain or loss of an in-state contract to supply goods and services.

(vii) Were not jobs retained following the acquisition of all or part of an in-state business by the employer.

(f) That the employer has offered the basic health benefits plan or the health insurance coverage as defined in R.S. 51:2453(2)(a) to the individuals it employs in new direct jobs including coverage for basic hospital care and for physician care, as well as offered the health insurance coverage as follows:

(i) That the employer has offered not less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per hour in health care benefits for full-time employees.

(ii) That the employer has offered health insurance coverage for the dependents of full-time employees.

(iii) That at least fifty percent of the employees holding new direct jobs have accepted the health care benefits offered.

(g) That the employer:

(i) Did not default on or otherwise not repay any loan or other obligation involving public funds.

(ii) Has not declared bankruptcy under which an obligation of the employer to pay or repay public funds or monies was discharged as part of such bankruptcy.

(iii) Is not in default on any filing or payment with or to the state or any of its agencies or political subdivisions in which such assessment or judgment is final and nonappealable and remains outstanding.

(h) That the employer meets the requirements of R.S. 51:2453(2)(b) and is not excluded by R.S. 51:2453(2)(c).

(3) The department may request such additional information from the employer as may be necessary to determine whether the application is correct and whether the employer is eligible for the annual rebate for that year, or may request that the employer revise its application.

(4) Upon approval of the application for the annual rebate, the application shall be forwarded to the Department of Revenue for payment. The Department of Revenue shall make payment of the rebate after offset, if applicable, under R.S. 47:1622. The rebate shall be considered a refundable overpayment for the purpose of such offset.

B. If the actual verified gross payroll for the employer's fiscal year for which the employer is applying for his third annual rebate does not show a minimum of five new direct jobs and is not of an amount which equals or exceeds a total of five hundred thousand dollars, or, where applicable according to R.S. 51:2455(E)(1), two hundred fifty thousand dollars, the tax liability for the tax period in which the failure to show such minimum occurs shall be increased by the amount of rebates previously allowed. If at any other time during the ten-year period when the employer applies for a rebate at the end of the employer's fiscal year, the actual verified gross payroll for such fiscal year does not show a minimum of five new direct jobs and an amount which equals or exceeds a total of five hundred thousand dollars, or, where applicable according to R.S. 51:2455(E)(1), two hundred fifty thousand dollars, the rebates shall be suspended and shall not be resumed until such time as the actual verified gross payroll shows a minimum of five new direct jobs and an amount which equals or exceeds five hundred thousand dollars or, where applicable according to R.S. 51:2455(E)(1), two hundred fifty thousand dollars. No rebate shall accrue or be paid to the employer during a period of suspension.

C. An employer that has qualified pursuant to R.S. 51:2455 is eligible to receive rebates under this Chapter only in accordance with the provisions under which it initially applied and was approved. If an employer that is receiving rebates expands, it may apply for additional rebates based on the gross payroll anticipated from the expansion only, pursuant to R.S. 51:2455.

Acts 1995, No. 1238, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 39, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 153, §1, eff. May 1, 2002; Acts 2007, No. 387, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2011, No. 353, §1, eff. June 29, 2011.

NOTE: See Acts 2011, No. 353, §1, relative to applicability.