Authorization Process for Calendar Tax Credit Years 2023 and Later

301 CMR 16.05 describes the process for application for and authorization of tax credits for Qualified Renovation Expenditures for CTCY 2023 and all following calendar tax credit years. (1) Application Period. The Secretary will announce the date each year when the Secretary will begin to accept Applications for Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credits for the following CTCY and the deadline by which Applications must be received to be eligible for the lottery selection process set forth in 301 CMR 16.05(3). The Secretary will accept Applications received after the deadline, but these Applications are ineligible for the lottery selection process described in 301 CMR 16.05(3). 16.05: continued Project Period. Applications shall include estimated Qualified Renovation expenditures proposed to be made during a Project Period that begins no earlier than October 1st of the year prior to the CTCY applied for and ends no later than December 31st of the CTCY being applied for. The Secretary shall authorize a tax credit only for Qualified Renovation Expenditures incurred during such Project Period, and any such expenditures incurred during such Project Period shall be treated as made during the CTCY for which the Application was made. Lottery Selection. The Secretary will conduct a lottery selection process to establish the priority order for authorization of Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credits for the following CTCY. (a) The Secretary shall announce the lottery date and procedure each year, which shall randomly select Applications to establish the order in which the Secretary will certify Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credits. (b) The order of the lottery selection list shall be determined independently for each CTCY based on the applications received for that CTCY, and the order of the list shall not carry over to future years. (c) The lottery procedure shall require the Secretary to designate each Application as either a Level 1 or a Level 2 Application for purposes of the lottery selection. For CTCY 2023, all applications shall be designated as Level 1 Applications. For each subsequent CTCY, Level 1 Applications shall be those Applications submitted by Applicants for whom the Secretary did not authorize a Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credit of more than $35,000 for the year immediately prior to the CTCY applied for, and Level 2 Applications shall be all other Applications. (d) The Secretary shall first conduct a lottery for all Level 1 Applications and add such Applications to the lottery selection list in the order selected. Upon completion of the lottery for all Level 1 Applications, the Secretary shall then conduct a lottery of all Level 2 applications and add such Applications to the lottery selection list in the order selected. (e) The Secretary shall add Applications received after the deadline for lottery eligibility to the end of the lottery selection list in the order received. (4) Notification of Eligibility. The Secretary shall determine whether an Application includes all information required by 301 CMR 16.04 and shall notify the Applicant in writing of any required information that must be submitted for the Application to be complete. An Applicant may provide supplementary material to complete an application within 15 business days of transmission of such notification, or within such additional time as the Secretary may provide. Failure by an Applicant to submit information required to complete an Application within the time limit provided, or failure to provide all information required to complete an application, shall constitute withdrawal of that Application. The Secretary shall review a complete Application to determine whether the Applicant is an eligible applicant pursuant to 301 CMR 16.03 and each proposed expenditure is a Qualified Renovation Expenditure. The Secretary shall provide a notification of eligibility to the Applicant, in writing, which shall include: (a) whether the Applicant is eligible, and if not eligible, the reason therefor; (b) the proposed expenditures that are Qualified Renovation Expenditures and, if any proposed expenditures are not Qualified Renovation Expenditures, the reason therefor; (c) the total amount of the Applicant's proposed Qualified Renovation Expenditures; (d) the Applicant's place on the lottery selection list; and (e) the Applicant's opportunity to provide supplemental information for reconsideration. Reconsideration. If the Secretary determines that an Applicant is ineligible or that any proposed expenditures are not Qualified Renovation Expenditures, an Applicant may provide supplemental information to the Secretary within 15 days of transmission of the Secretary's notification of eligibility, or within such additional time as the Secretary may provide. Said supplemental information shall be in writing and shall include documentation and reasoning to demonstrate why the Applicant is eligible or why the proposed expenditures are Qualified Renovation Expenditures. The Secretary shall reconsider the Application and issue a final notification of eligibility. 16.05: continued (6) Determination of Tax Credit Availability. (a) The Secretary shall remove from the lottery selection list any Application that is withdrawn or for which a final decision has been reached determining that the Applicant is not an eligible applicant or has proposed no Qualified Renovation Expenditures. (b) The Secretary shall determine, in the order of the lottery selection list and based on final determinations of Qualified Renovation Expenditures pursuant to 301 CMR 16.05(4) and (5), whether funding is available as a tax credit for each applicant. (c) The Secretary shall provide a determination of tax credit availability to an Applicant, in writing, when funding will be available as a tax credit for the Applicant's Qualified Renovation Expenditures for a given CTCY. This determination shall indicate the amount of the tax credit that the Secretary will authorize for the Applicant and procedures for authorization. (d) The Secretary shall notify an Applicant, in writing, when he or she finds that funding may not be available as a tax credit for an Application. (7) Authorization. (a) An Applicant that has received a determination of tax credit availability may submit its Qualified Renovation Expenditures to the Secretary for authorization of the associated tax credit on or before the date specified by the Secretary. An Applicant shall submit sufficient documentation of all expenditures to enable the Secretary to determine that each expenditure is a Qualified Renovation Expenditure and within the scope of the determination of tax credit availability and the Application reviewed by the Secretary for that CTCY. Such documentation shall include, but is not necessarily limited to: invoices; proof that materials and services were provided during the Project Period; proof of payments; and demonstration of how expenditures relate to the Application. (b) The Secretary shall review such submissions and calculate the tax credit for each Applicant, which shall not exceed $100,000 or the amount specified in the determination of tax credit eligibility except as provided in 301 CMR 16.05(7)(c). (c) If the sum of all tax credits calculated for a CTCY pursuant to 301 CMR 16.05(7)(b) is less than the Annual Program Cap, the Secretary may authorize tax credits for Qualified Renovation Expenditures actually incurred that exceed the Qualified Renovation Expenditures estimated in an Application or may authorize tax credits for Applicants who did not receive a Determination of Tax Credit Availability; provided, however, that the Secretary shall not authorize a tax credit greater than $100,000 for any Applicant in a CTCY. The Secretary shall allocate tax credits to Applicants under 301 CMR 16.05(7)(c) based on lottery position and such other factors as the Secretary may determine. (d) The Secretary shall authorize tax credits in the amounts calculated by notifying the Applicant and the Commissioner of the amount of the tax credit that it authorizes for each Applicant. The Secretary shall include in such notification: a unique Cranberry Bog Renovation Tax Credit Certificate Number for use in tax filing; 2. the CTCY to which that certificate number applies; and 3. such other information as may be required for the Applicant to claim the tax credit.