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:
18 220.198 Internship 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.