Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 642
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       30-00261B-20                                           2020642__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to an internship tax credit program;
    3         creating s. 220.198, F.S.; providing a short title;
    4         defining terms; providing a corporate income tax
    5         credit for qualified businesses employing degree
    6         seeking student interns if certain criteria are met;
    7         specifying the amount of the credit per student
    8         intern; specifying a limit on the credit claimed per
    9         taxable year; authorizing the Department of Revenue to
   10         adopt certain rules; authorizing a qualified business
   11         to carry forward unused credit for a certain time;
   12         providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 220.198, Florida Statutes, is created to
   17  read:
   18         220.198Internship tax credit program.—
   19         (1)This section may be cited as the “Florida Internship
   20  Tax Credit Program.”
   21         (2)As used in this section, the term:
   22         (a)“Degree-seeking student intern” means a person who is a
   23  senior at a state university, a Florida College System
   24  institution, a career center operated by a school district under
   25  s. 1001.44, or a charter technical career center, or any
   26  graduate student enrolled at a state university.
   27         (b)“Full time” means at least 40 hours per week.
   28         (c)“Qualified business” means a business that has been
   29  continuously operating for at least 3 years.
   30         (3)For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
   31  2021, a qualified business shall be allowed a tax credit against
   32  previously paid corporate income taxes imposed under this
   33  chapter in the amount of $2,000 per student intern, if:
   34         (a)During the degree-seeking student’s internship, the
   35  student worked full time for at least 9 consecutive weeks;
   36         (b)The qualified business provides documentation for the
   37  current taxable year to show that at least 20 percent of its
   38  full-time employees were previously employed as degree-seeking
   39  student interns by that qualified business;
   40         (c)The degree-seeking student intern had a minimum grade
   41  point average of 2.0 at the start of the internship; and
   42         (d)The state university, Florida College System
   43  institution, career center operated by a school district under
   44  s. 1001.44, or charter technical career center has provided
   45  documentation attesting to the degree-seeking student intern’s
   46  enrollment status.
   47         (4)Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(b), a qualified business
   48  that, for the prior 3 years on average, employed 10 or fewer
   49  full-time employees shall be allowed the tax credit if it
   50  provides documentation that it previously hired at least 1
   51  degree-seeking student intern, and, for the current taxable
   52  year, it employs on a full-time basis at least 1 employee who
   53  was previously employed as a degree-seeking student intern by
   54  that qualified business.
   55         (5)A qualified business may not claim a tax credit of more
   56  than $10,000 for previously paid corporate income taxes in any 1
   57  taxable year.
   58         (6)The department may adopt rules governing the manner and
   59  form of applications for the tax credit and establishing
   60  qualification requirements for the tax credit.
   61         (7)A qualified business awarded a tax credit for
   62  previously paid corporate income taxes under this section may
   63  carry forward any unused portion of a tax credit for up to 2
   64  taxable years.
   65         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.