Bill Text: MS SB3106 | 2024 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Tax exemptions; revise qualifying standards for business enterprises operating data centers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-04-16 - Died In Committee [SB3106 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-SB3106-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Finance
By: Senator(s) Harkins
Senate Bill 3106
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 57-113-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITIONS OF "BUSINESS ENTERPRISE," "DATA CENTER" AND "STATE TAX" FOR PURPOSES OF THE SALES, USE, INCOME AND FRANCHISE TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR DATA CENTER ENTERPRISES; TO AMEND SECTION 57-113-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE REQUIRED CONTENTS OF THE APPLICATION TO BE SUBMITTED BY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES SEEKING THE EXEMPTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 57-113-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SHALL HAVE 60 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE IN WHICH TO REMEDY SUCH NONCOMPLIANCE BEFORE FORFEITING ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS, SUBJECT TO ANY PENALTIES PROVIDED IN MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY RULES AND REGULATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 57-113-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-113-21. As used in this article:
(a)
"Business enterprise" means any for-profit business * * * establishment
registered to do business in the state and which is the owner, operator, tenant
or affiliate of a data center in this state with a minimum investment of Five Hundred
Million Dollars ($500,000,000.00) and that creates at least fifty (50) new, full-time
jobs with a minimum average annual salary of one hundred twenty-five percent (125%)
of the average annual state wage.
(b)
"Data center" means one or more buildings or an array of interconnected
buildings in one (1) physical location or multiple physical locations that are owned,
leased, occupied or operated by a business enterprise that utilizes
hardware, software, technology, infrastructure and/or workforce, to store, manage,
process or * * * disseminate digital data.
(c) "MDA" means the Mississippi Development Authority.
(d) "State tax" means:
(i) Any sales and use tax imposed on the business enterprise pursuant to law related to the purchase or lease of component building materials and equipment for initial construction of facilities or expansion of facilities that are certified by the Mississippi Development Authority;
(ii) Any sales and use tax imposed by law on the business enterprise pursuant to law related to the purchase of replacement hardware, software or other necessary technology to operate a data center;
(iii) All income
tax imposed pursuant to law on income earned by the business enterprise
certified by the Mississippi Development Authority; * * *
(iv) Franchise tax
imposed pursuant to law on the value of capital used, invested or employed by
the business enterprise certified by the Mississippi Development Authority * * *; and
(v) Any tax imposed on a data center pursuant to law related to the purchase of electricity.
SECTION 2. Section 57-113-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-113-23. Business enterprises wishing to apply for the tax exemptions authorized by this article shall make application to the MDA prior to construction or acquisition of the buildings for the location or expansion of the business enterprise in this state. The application, at a minimum, shall contain:
(a) An overview of the project that includes the selected site, the number of jobs proposed, the length of time necessary for the company to meet its investment and employment requirements;
(b)
A two-year business plan * * *, which shall include pro forma financial statements for the project and
any service contracts to be performed at the Mississippi facility;
* * *
( * * *c) An acknowledgment that the business
entity will be required to provide annual documentation to demonstrate that the
minimum investment and job requirements * * * are being maintained; and
( * * *d) Such information as may be reasonably
requested by the MDA to determine eligibility for the exemption.
SECTION 3. Section 57-113-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-113-25. (1) Upon approval of the application, the MDA shall issue a certification designating the business enterprise as eligible for the tax exemptions authorized by this article. This certification shall document the date by which all commitments must be met.
(2) Upon the issuance of the certification, the business enterprise shall be exempt from state taxes for a period of ten (10) years, subject to the performance requirements set out in the agreement required by subsection (3)(c) of this section.
(3) The following conditions, along with any other conditions the MDA shall promulgate from time to time by rule or regulation, shall apply to such exemptions:
(a)
A business enterprise using any exemption provided under this article * * *
cannot transfer its exemption to any other person or business * * * without prior approval by the
MDA;
(b) No approved business enterprise may claim or use the exemption granted under this article unless that business enterprise is in full compliance with all state and local tax laws, and related ordinances and resolutions; however, if an audit conducted by any federal or state agency in the ordinary course of business reveals any noncompliance by a business enterprise exempt from state taxes under this article, the business enterprise shall have sixty (60) days from the date of notice in which to remedy its noncompliance before forfeiting its tax-exempt status, subject to any penalties provided in MDA rules and regulations; and
(c) The business enterprise must enter into an agreement with the MDA which sets out, at a minimum, the performance requirements of the approved business enterprise during the term of the exemption and provisions for the recapture of all or a portion of the taxes exempted if the performance requirements of the business enterprise are not met.
(4) Upon certifying a business enterprise as eligible for the exemptions under this article, the MDA shall forward the certification along with any other necessary information to the Department of Revenue so that the exemptions can be implemented. The Department of Revenue shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, for the implementation of the state tax exemptions granted under this article.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2024.
