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(a) For the purposes of this section, the term:
(1) “Directly related entity” means a Qualified High Technology Company that is closely associated with a tenant, including:
(A) A subsidiary or parent company of a tenant;
(B) A special purpose vehicle of a tenant;
(C) A holding company of a tenant;
(D) An operating company of a tenant;
(E) A flow-through entity of a tenant; or
(F) A company otherwise substantially sharing, directly or indirectly, common directors, officers, employees, facilities, or profits with a tenant.
(2) “Eligible building” means a non-residential or mixed-use building.
(3) “Eligible premises” means a nonresidential, interior portion of an eligible building that is used as an office (including ancillary uses) or retail space by a Qualified High Technology Company under a lease.
(4) “Lease commencement” means the date on which a tenant, or a directly related entity, takes possession of eligible premises or the occupancy date for eligible premises agreed to in a lease or sublease by a tenant, whichever occurs first.
(5) “Mixed-use building” means a building used for both residential and non-residential purposes.
(6) “Public benefit” means an undertaking by a tenant or a directly related entity that the Mayor, in his or her sole discretion, determines will have a material, positive impact on the District of Columbia. The term “public benefit” may include:
(A) Providing employment or contracting opportunities for District of Columbia residents and Certified Business Enterprises;
(B) Providing low-income or underserved individuals or communities in the District of Columbia with reduced-price or free products, services, or commercial or community space;
(C) Providing economic opportunities, training, or jobs for individuals or communities beyond those offered through the normal course of business; or
(D) Providing innovation-and-technology-related educational, training, or internship opportunities for students in the District of Columbia.
(7) “Qualified High Technology Company” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 47-1817.01(5) .
(8) “Qualified tenant improvement” means an improvement to eligible premises made pursuant to a lease or a sublease by a tenant or a directly related entity that is substantially completed no later than one year after lease commencement
(9) “Tenant” means a Qualified High Technology Company that executes a lease or a sublease for at least 50,000 square feet of net rentable area of eligible premises within the District for a minimum term of 12 years, under which the tenant, or a directly related entity, occupies and uses the eligible premises, or will occupy and use the eligible premises, on or after the lease commencement date.
(10) “Total value of qualified tenant improvements” means the amount expended by a tenant or a directly related entity to make qualified tenant improvements.
(b) A tenant that leases or subleases eligible premises taxable under Chapter 8 of this title shall receive, to the extent provided in this section, a rebate of the real property tax paid with respect to the eligible premises for the portion of the tax year that the eligible premises are occupied by the tenant or a directly related entity if:
(1) The tenant is liable under the lease or sublease for its proportionate share of the real property tax for the tax lot on which the eligible building is located;
(2) The tenant has been certified as eligible for a rebate by the Mayor under subsection (e) of this section;
(3) The real property tax has been paid for the year during which the rebate is sought;
(4) The tenant complies with the requirements of subsection (d) of this section during the tax year for which the rebate is sought; and
(5) No abatement of the real property tax on the eligible building pursuant to § 47-811.03 has been claimed for the tax year for which the rebate is sought.
(c)
(1) The amount of a rebate provided pursuant to this section to a single tenant or any directly related entity in a single year shall be equal to the least of the following:
(A) 10% of the total value of any qualified tenant improvements substantially completed during the preceding 5 years, as certified by the Mayor pursuant to subsection (e)(3) of this section;
(B) The portion of the real property tax paid during the year for which the rebate is sought, either directly or indirectly, by the tenant or by a directly related entity under the tenant’s or directly related entity’s lease or sublease; or
(C) $1 million.
(2) The amount of the rebate calculated pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be reduced by the amount of any grant received by the tenant or by a directly related entity pursuant to [ § 1-325.172(c)(4) ] as certified by the Mayor to the Office of Tax and Revenue.
(3) Payment of the rebate of real property tax shall be made no later than December 31 of the year following the tax year for which the taxes to be rebated were paid; provided, that the tenant is eligible to receive the rebate payment.
(d) No later than September 15 of the tax year in which the tax was paid as provided under § 47-811 , a tenant seeking a rebate pursuant to this section shall submit to the Chief Financial Officer:
(1) A copy of the tenant’s lease or sublease including any provisions requiring the tenant to pay a portion of the property tax for the tax lot on which the eligible building is located;
(2) Documentation that the tenant has paid its proportional share of the real property tax to date, as required under the lease or sublease for the eligible premises, to be supplemented by the tenant once it has made its final payment for the calendar year;
(3) An itemization of the rentable square footage of the eligible premises actually occupied by the tenant or a directly related entity and the period of such occupancy during the tax year; and
(4) If obtained by the tenant before the date of the submission to the Chief Financial Officer, certifications by the Mayor of the tenant’s eligibility for a rebate pursuant to subsection (e)(2) of this section and of the total value of qualified tenant improvements pursuant to subsection (e)(3) of this section, and, if known to the tenant before the date of the submission to the Chief Financial Officer, the maximum amount of the rebate allowable under subsection (c) of this section. If these items are not available at the time of submission, the tenant shall supplement the application with these items when they become available.
(e)
(1) A tenant who seeks to be considered eligible for a rebate provided under this section, shall file with the Mayor on or after June 1, 2016, in a manner and form as the Mayor may prescribe, an eligibility certification application, which shall include:
(A) The identity of the tenant, including the tenant’s taxpayer identification number, and the identity of any directly related entity that may be occupying all or part of the eligible premises, including the directly related entity’s taxpayer identification number;
(B) A description of the eligible building, by square and lot, parcel, or reservation number, and of the eligible premises, including floors, location, and square footage;
(C) The estimated cost of making any qualified tenant improvements to the eligible premises;
(D) The date of lease commencement and anticipated duration of the lease or sublease.
(E) A description of the public benefit that the tenant proposes to furnish; and
(F) Any other information that the Mayor considers necessary.
(2) The Mayor shall review the tenant’s eligibility certification application. If the Mayor determines that the tenant has proposed to furnish a public benefit and that the tenant is otherwise eligible, the Mayor shall certify to the Office of Tax and Revenue the tenant’s eligibility to receive a rebate pursuant to this section. The certification shall be made before the tenant’s lease commencement or within 45 days after the eligibility certification application is received, whichever is later in time.
(3) Within 60 days following substantial completion of qualified tenant improvements, the tenant shall submit to the Mayor an itemization of the total value of qualified tenant improvements, together with supporting documentation. Within 60 days following the receipt of this submission, the Mayor shall review and certify the total value of qualified tenant improvements to the Office of Tax and Revenue.
(4) No later than 31 days before the end of each calendar year following lease commencement, the Mayor shall certify to the Office of Tax and Revenue whether the tenant has furnished or has made substantial progress toward furnishing a public benefit. If the Mayor certifies that a tenant has not furnished or made substantial progress toward furnishing a public benefit, the Office of Tax and Revenue shall not pay a rebate to the tenant for that calendar year.
(5) If at any time the Mayor determines that a tenant has become ineligible for a rebate under this section, either for failure to make substantial progress toward furnishing a public benefit or for some other reason, the Mayor immediately shall notify the Office of Tax and Revenue and thereafter the Office of Tax and Revenue shall not pay to the tenant any rebate pursuant to this section.