Florida Senate - 2016                                    SB 1456
       
       
        
       By Senator Bullard
       
       39-01612-16                                           20161456__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the internship tax credit program;
    3         creating s. 220.198, F.S.; providing a short title;
    4         providing definitions; providing a corporate income
    5         tax credit of up to a specified amount for a qualified
    6         business hiring a degree-seeking student after a
    7         completed internship by the degree-seeking student;
    8         providing eligibility criteria; limiting the amount of
    9         the tax credit a qualified business may claim;
   10         authorizing the Department of Revenue to adopt rules
   11         governing applications and establish qualification
   12         requirements; authorizing a qualified business to
   13         carry forward the tax credit for a specified period;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 220.198, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         220.198 Internship tax credit program.—
   21         (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Internship
   22  Tax Credit Program.”
   23         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   24         (a) “Degree-seeking student” means a person who is a senior
   25  at a state university, a Florida College System institution, a
   26  career center operated by a school district under s. 1001.44, or
   27  a charter technical career center, or any graduate student
   28  enrolled at a state university.
   29         (b) “Qualified business” means a business that has been in
   30  existence and continuously operating for at least 3 years.
   31         (3) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
   32  2017, a qualified business shall receive a tax credit for
   33  previously paid corporate income taxes imposed under this
   34  chapter equal to the lesser of $2,000 or the amount of wages
   35  previously paid by the qualified business to a degree-seeking
   36  student during the student’s internship, if:
   37         (a) The degree-seeking student, during his or her
   38  internship, worked full-time for at least 9 consecutive weeks.
   39         (b) The qualified business provides documentation to show,
   40  that for the current tax year, it employs on a full-time basis
   41  at least 20 percent of the degree-seeking students who were
   42  previously employed as interns by that qualified business.
   43         (c) The degree-seeking student had a minimum grade point
   44  average of 2.0 at the start of the internship.
   45         (d) The state university, Florida College System
   46  institution, career center operated by a school district under
   47  s. 1001.44, or charter technical career center has provided
   48  documentation attesting to the degree-seeking student’s
   49  enrollment status.
   50         (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(b), a qualified business
   51  that for the prior 3 years on average employed 10 full-time
   52  employees or fewer, shall receive the tax credit if it provides
   53  documentation that it previously hired at least one intern and,
   54  for the current tax year, it employs on a full-time basis at
   55  least one of the degree-seeking students who was previously
   56  employed as an intern by that qualified business.
   57         (5) A qualified business may not claim a tax credit of more
   58  than $10,000 for previously paid corporate income taxes in any
   59  one tax year.
   60         (6) The department may adopt rules governing the manner and
   61  form of applications for the tax credit and establish
   62  qualification requirements for the tax credit.
   63         (7) A qualified business awarded a tax credit of previously
   64  paid corporate income taxes under this section may carry forward
   65  any unused portion of a tax credit for up to 2 years.
   66         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.