§6033. Apprenticeship tax credits

            A. Purpose. The legislature hereby determines that a major impediment to the economy of the state is the lack of an adequate number of people in the workforce with sufficient on the job training to find and keep good paying jobs already present and those that would be here if more of the workforce was of higher skill level or experience. Further, the legislature finds that a tax credit that provides an incentive for businesses to employ apprentices will provide a step toward creating and maintaining such a workforce.

            B. Definitions.

            (1) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

            (2) "Eligible apprentice" means a person who:

            (a) Has entered into a written apprentice agreement with an employer or an association of employers pursuant to a registered apprenticeship program as provided for in Chapter 4 of Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 23:381 et seq.

            (b) Is enrolled in a training program accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research which has no less than four levels of training and no less than five hundred hours of instruction.

            C. Administration of the credit. For taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2021, there shall be allowed a nonrefundable tax credit against Louisiana income tax or corporation franchise tax for the employment of eligible apprentices as provided for in this Section.

            (1) For each eligible apprentice employed for a minimum of two hundred fifty hours during the taxable period, an employer shall be eligible for a credit equal to one dollar and twenty-five cents per hour of employment for a maximum credit of one thousand two hundred fifty dollars per eligible apprentice.

            (2) The total amount of tax credits granted by the department in any calendar year shall not exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars. The department shall establish the method of allocating available tax credits to employers including but not limited to a first-come, first-served system, reservation of tax credits for a specific time, or other method that the department, in its discretion, may find beneficial to the program by rule. If the department does not grant the entire two million five hundred thousand dollars in tax credits in any calendar year, the amount of residual unused tax credits shall carry forward to subsequent calendar years and may be granted in any year without regard to the two million five hundred thousand dollar per year limitation.

            (3) The department, in consultation with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, shall establish by regulation the procedures sufficient to determine the employer's eligibility for the credit.

            (4) The Louisiana Workforce Commission shall provide an annual list of businesses that participate in the apprenticeship programs administered by the agency to the department.

            (5) The department shall determine the enrollment and transcript data required from the National Center for Construction Education and Research for students enrolled in one of its accredited training programs that is sufficient for the department to determine the employer's eligibility for the credit authorized by this Section. However, in order for an employer to be eligible for a credit, a student enrolled in a training program accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research must have successfully completed no less than two levels of training and no less than two hundred fifty hours of instruction.

            D. Application of the credit.

            (1) The credit shall be allowed against the income or franchise tax due from a taxpayer for the taxable period in which the credit is earned. If the tax credit allowed pursuant to this Section exceeds the amount of such taxes due from a taxpayer, then the taxpayer as a credit may carry any unused credit forward to be applied against subsequent tax liability for a period not to exceed five years. However, in no event shall the amount of the tax credit applied by a taxpayer in a taxable period exceed the amount of such taxes due from the taxpayer for that taxable period.

            (2) All entities taxed as corporations for Louisiana income tax purposes shall claim any credit on their corporation income and franchise tax return.

            (3) Individuals, estates, and trusts shall claim any credit on their income tax return.

            (4) Entities not taxed as corporations shall claim their share of any credit on the returns of the partners or members as follows:

            (a) Corporate partners or members shall claim their share of any credit on their corporation income tax returns.

            (b) Individual partners or members shall claim their share of any credit on their individual income tax returns.

            (c) Partners or members that are estates or trusts shall claim their share of any credit on their fiduciary income tax returns.

            E. Recovery of credits by Department of Revenue. Credits previously granted to a taxpayer, but later disallowed, may be recovered by the secretary of the Department of Revenue through any collection remedy authorized by R.S. 47:1561.3.

            F. The department may promulgate rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to establish the policies and criteria regarding program eligibility and any other matter necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this Section.

            G. No credit shall be granted for the employment of eligible apprentices before January 1, 2022, or after December 31, 2028.

            Acts 2021, No. 454, §1, eff. June 23, 2021.