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(1) In order to use the incentives in the Rural Economic Opportunities Act, the taxpayer shall file an application for an agreement with the Tax Commissioner.
(2) The application shall contain:
(a) A written statement describing the plan of employment, wages, and investment for a qualified business in Nebraska;
(b) Sufficient documents, plans, and specifications as required by the Tax Commissioner to support the plan and define a project;
(c) If more than one location within the state is involved, sufficient documentation to show that the employment, wages, and investment at different locations are interdependent parts of the plan. A headquarters shall be presumed to be interdependent with any other location directly controlled by such headquarters. A showing that the parts of the plan would be considered parts of a unitary business for corporate income tax purposes shall not be sufficient to show interdependence for the purposes of this subdivision; and
(d) A nonrefundable application fee of five hundred dollars. The fee shall be deposited into the Nebraska Incentives Fund. The application and all supporting information shall be confidential except for the name, location, and qualification level of approved projects and the information required to be reported by section 77-5412 .
(3) The Tax Commissioner shall approve the application only if it satisfactorily meets the following conditions:
(a) Defines a project in one or more qualified business activities in the state;
(b) Shows that the project will result in (i) the hiring of a number of new employees equal to at least one-half of one percent of the labor force in the county or counties in which the project will be located, (ii) the paying of annual wages to the number of new employees that will average at least the qualifying wage, and (iii)(A) for a county or counties with a labor force greater than three thousand, the investment in qualified property of at least one hundred thousand dollars times one-half of one percent of the labor force in the county or counties in which the project will be located rounded to the nearest whole number or (B) for a county or counties with a labor force of three thousand or less, the investment in qualified property of at least fifty thousand dollars times one-half of one percent of the labor force in the county or counties in which the project will be located rounded to the nearest whole number; and
(c) Contains plans for achieving the required levels of employment, wages, and investment for the project prior to the end of the second year after the year in which the application is submitted and maintaining the required levels of employment, wages, and investment for the entitlement period.
(4) After approval, the taxpayer and Tax Commissioner shall enter into a written agreement. The taxpayer shall agree to complete the project, and the Tax Commissioner, on behalf of the State of Nebraska, shall designate the approved plans of the taxpayer as a project and, in consideration of the taxpayer's agreement, agree to allow the taxpayer to use the incentives contained in the Rural Economic Opportunities Act. The application, and all supporting documentation, to the extent approved, shall be considered a part of the agreement. The agreement shall state:
(a) The levels of employment, wages, and investment required by the act for the project based on the date of the application;
(b) The time period under the act in which the required levels must be met;
(c) The documentation the taxpayer will need to supply when claiming an incentive under the act;
(d) The date the application was filed; and
(e) That the required levels of employment, wages, and investment shall be achieved and maintained throughout the entitlement period or any incentives used will be subject to recapture.
(5) The incentives contained in section 77-5407 shall be in lieu of the tax credits allowed by sections 77-27,188 and 77-4105 for any project. Any employment, wages, or investment which is eligible for credits under the act shall be subtracted from the increases computed for determining the benefits under sections 77-27,188 and 77-4105 .
(6) A taxpayer and the Tax Commissioner may enter into agreements for more than one project. The projects may be either sequential or concurrent. A project may involve the same location as another project. No new employment, new wages, or new investment shall be included in more than one project for either the meeting of the employment, wages, or investment requirements or the creation of credits. When projects overlap and the plans do not clearly specify, the taxpayer shall specify in which project the employment, wages, and investment belong.