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1999 SESSION


CHAPTER 909
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 63.1-321 and 63.1-324 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 19 of Title 63.1 a section numbered 63.1-325.1, relating to the Neighborhood Assistance Act.
[H 1866]
Approved March 29, 1999

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 63.1-321 and 63.1-324 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 19 of Title 63.1 a section numbered 63.1-325.1 as follows:

§ 63.1-321. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

"Business firm" means any corporation, partnership, electing small business (Subchapter S) corporation, limited liability company, or sole proprietorship authorized to do business in this Commonwealth subject to tax imposed by Articles 2 (§ 58.1-320 et seq.) and 10 (§ 58.1-400 et seq.) of Chapter 3, Chapter 12 (§ 58.1-1200 et seq.), Article 1 (§ 58.1-2500 et seq.) of Chapter 25, or Article 2 (§ 58.1-2620 et seq.) of Chapter 26 of Title 58.1.

"Community services" means any type of counseling and advice, emergency assistance, medical care, provision of basic necessities, or services designed to minimize the effects of poverty, furnished primarily to impoverished people.

"Contracting services" means the provision, by a business firm licensed by the Commonwealth as a contractor under Chapter 11 (§ 54.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 54.1, of labor or technical advice to aid in the development, construction, renovation, or repair of (i) homes of impoverished people or (ii) buildings used by neighborhood organizations.

"Education" means any type of scholastic instruction or scholarship assistance to an individual who is impoverished.

"Housing assistance" means furnishing financial assistance, labor, material, or technical advice to aid the physical improvement of the homes of impoverished people.

"Impoverished people" means people in Virginia approved as such by the State Board of Social Services. Such approval shall be made on the basis of generally recognized low income criteria used by federal and state agencies.

"Job training" means any type of instruction to an individual who is impoverished that enables him to acquire vocational skills so that he can become employable or able to seek a higher grade of employment.

"Neighborhood assistance" means providing community services, education, housing assistance, or job training.

"Neighborhood organization" means any local, regional or statewide organization whose primary function is providing neighborhood assistance for impoverished people, and holding a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the Treasury that the organization is exempt from income taxation under the provisions of §§ 501 (c) (3) and 501 (c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, or any organization defined as a community action agency in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.), or any housing authority as defined in § 36-3.

"Professional services" means any type of personal service to the public which requires as a condition precedent to the rendering of such service the obtaining of a license or other legal authorization and shall include, but shall not be limited to, the personal services rendered by medical doctors, dentists, architects, professional engineers, certified public accountants and attorneys-at-law.

§ 63.1-324. Tax credit; amount; limitation; carry over.

A. The Commissioner of Social Services or his designee shall certify to the Department of Taxation, or in the case of business firms subject to a tax under Article 1 (§ 58.1-2500 et seq.) of Chapter 25 or Article 2 (§ 58.1-2620 et seq.) of Chapter 26 of Title 58.1, to the State Corporation Commission, the applicability of the tax credit provided herein for a business firm.

B. A business firm shall be eligible for a credit against the taxes imposed by Articles 2 (§ 58.1-320 et seq.) and 10 (§ 58.1-400 et seq.) of Chapter 3, Chapter 12 (§ 58.1-1200 et seq.), Article 1 (§ 58.1-2500 et seq.) of Chapter 25, or Article 2 (§ 58.1-2620 et seq.) of Chapter 26 of Title 58.1, in an amount equal to forty-five percent of the value of the money, property, and professional services, and contracting services donated by the business firm during its taxable year to neighborhood organizations for programs approved pursuant to § 63.1-323. No tax credit of less than $400 shall be granted for any donation, and a business firm shall not be allowed a tax credit in excess of $175,000 per taxable year. No tax credit shall be granted to any business firm for donations to a neighborhood organization providing job training or education for individuals employed by the business firm. Any tax credit not usable for the taxable year the donation was made may be carried over to the extent usable for the next five succeeding taxable years or until the full credit has been utilized, whichever is sooner. Credits granted to a partnership, electing small business (Subchapter S) corporation, or limited liability company shall be allocated to their individual partners, shareholders, or members, respectively, in proportion to their ownership or interest in such business entities.

C. A tax credit shall be issued by the Commissioner of Social Services to a business firm upon receipt of a certification made by a neighborhood organization to whom tax credits were allocated for an approved program pursuant to § 63.1-323. The certification shall identify the type and value of the donation received and the business firm making the donation. A business firm shall be eligible for a tax credit under this section only to the extent that sufficient tax credits allocated to the neighborhood organization for an approved project are available.

§ 63.1-325.1. Donations of contracting services.

A. A sole proprietor, partnership or limited liability company engaged in the business of providing contracting services shall be eligible for a tax credit under this chapter based on the time spent by the proprietor or a partner or member, respectively, who renders contracting services to a program which has received an allocation of tax credits from the Commissioner of Social Services or his designee. The value of the contracting services, for purposes of determining the amount of the tax credit allowable, rendered by the proprietor or a partner or member to an approved program shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the reasonable cost for similar services from other providers or (ii) fifty dollars per hour.

B. A business firm shall be eligible for a tax credit under this chapter for the time spent by a salaried employee who renders contracting services to an approved program. The value of the contracting services, for purposes of determining the amount of tax credit allowed to a business firm for time spent by its salaried employee in rendering contracting services to an approved project, shall be equal to the salary that such employee was actually paid for the period of time that such employee rendered contracting services to the approved program.