(a)(1)A qualified taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the “net tax,” as defined in Section 17039, equal to the applicable percentage of the qualified cost of qualified property that is placed in service in this state. For purposes of this subdivision, the applicable percentage is:

(A)Six percent for property placed in service before January 1, 2005.

(B)Five percent for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2005, and before January 1, 2006.

(C)Four percent for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2006, and before January 1, 2007.

(D)Three percent for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2008.

(E)Two percent for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2008, and before January 1, 2009.

(F)One percent for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2010.

(2)In the case of any qualified costs paid or incurred on or after January 1, 1994, and prior to the first taxable year of the qualified taxpayer beginning on or after January 1, 1995, the credit provided under paragraph (1) shall be claimed by the qualified taxpayer on the qualified taxpayer’s return for the first taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1995. No credit shall be claimed under this section on a return filed for any taxable year commencing prior to the qualified taxpayer’s first taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1995.

(b)(1)For purposes of this section, “qualified cost” means any cost that satisfies each of the following conditions:

(A)Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, is a cost paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer for the construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of qualified property on or after January 1, 1994, and prior to the date this section ceases to be operative under paragraph (2) of subdivision (i). In the case of any qualified property constructed, reconstructed, or acquired by the qualified taxpayer (or any person related to the qualified taxpayer within the meaning of Section 267 or 707 of the Internal Revenue Code) pursuant to a binding contract in existence on or prior to January 1, 1994, costs paid pursuant to that contract shall be subject to allocation as follows: contract costs shall be allocated to qualified property based on a ratio of costs actually paid prior to January 1, 1994, and total contract costs actually paid. “Cost paid” shall include, without limitation, contractual deposits and option payments. To the extent of costs allocated, whether or not currently deductible or depreciable for tax purposes, to a period prior to January 1, 1994, the cost shall be deemed allocated to property acquired before January 1, 1994, and is thus not a “qualified cost.”

(B)Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (d), is an amount upon which the qualified taxpayer has paid, directly or indirectly, as a separately stated contract amount or as determined from the records of the qualified taxpayer, sales or use tax under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001).

(C)Is an amount properly chargeable to the capital account of the qualified taxpayer.

(2)(A)For purposes of this subdivision, any contract entered into on or after January 1, 1994, that is a successor or replacement contract to a contract that was binding prior to January 1, 1994, shall be treated as a binding contract in existence prior to January 1, 1994.

(B)If a successor or replacement contract is entered into on or after January 1, 1994, and the subject of the successor or replacement contract relates both to amounts for the construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of qualified property described in the original binding contract and to costs for the construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of qualified property not described in the original binding contract, then the portion of those amounts described in the successor or replacement contract that were not described in the original binding contract shall not be treated as costs paid or incurred pursuant to a binding contract in existence on or prior to January 1, 1994, under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(3)(A)For purposes of this section, an option contract in existence prior to January 1, 1994, under which a qualified taxpayer (or any other person related to the qualified taxpayer within the meaning of Section 267 or 707 of the Internal Revenue Code) had an option to acquire qualified property, shall be treated as a binding contract under the rules in paragraph (2). For purposes of this subparagraph, an option contract shall not include an option under which the optionholder will forfeit an amount less than 10 percent of the fixed option price in the event the option is not exercised.

(B)For purposes of this section, a contract shall be treated as binding even if the contract is subject to a condition.

(4)For purposes of this subdivision, in the case of any qualified taxpayer engaged in those lines of business described in Codes 7371 to 7373, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, “the first taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1998,” shall be substituted for “January 1, 1994,” in each place in which it appears.

(c)(1)For purposes of this section, “qualified taxpayer” means any taxpayer engaged in those lines of business described in Codes 2011 to 3999, inclusive, or Codes 7371 to 7373, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition.

(2)In the case of any passthrough entity, the determination of whether a taxpayer is a qualified taxpayer under this section shall be made at the entity level and any credit under this section or Section 23649 shall be allowed to the passthrough entity and passed through to the partners or shareholders in accordance with applicable provisions of Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) or Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001). For purposes of this paragraph, the term “passthrough entity” means any partnership or S corporation.

(3)The Franchise Tax Board may prescribe regulations to carry out the purposes of this section, including any regulations necessary to prevent the avoidance of the effect of this section through splitups, shell corporations, partnerships, tiered ownership structures, sale-leaseback transactions, or otherwise.

(d)For purposes of this section, “qualified property” means property that is described as any of the following:

(1)Tangible personal property that is defined in Section 1245(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for use by a qualified taxpayer in those lines of business described in Codes 2011 to 3999, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, that is primarily used for any of the following:

(A)For the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of property, beginning at the point at which any raw materials are received by the qualified taxpayer and introduced into the process and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required.

(B)In research and development.

(C)To maintain, repair, measure, or test any property described in this paragraph.

(D)For pollution control that meets or exceeds standards established by the state or by any local or regional governmental agency within the state.

(E)For recycling.

(2)Computers and computer peripheral equipment, as defined in Section 168(i)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, that is tangible personal property as defined in Section 1245(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for use by a qualified taxpayer in those lines of business described in SIC Codes 7371 to 7373, inclusive, of the SIC Manual, 1987 edition, that is primarily used to develop or manufacture prepackaged software or custom software prepared to the special order of the purchaser who uses the program to produce and sell or license copies of the program as prepackaged software.

(3)The value of any capitalized labor costs that are directly allocable to the construction or modification of property described in paragraph (1) or (2).

(4)In the case of any qualified taxpayer engaged in manufacturing activities described in SIC Code 357 or 367, those activities related to biotechnology described in SIC Code 8731, those activities related to biopharmaceutical establishments only that are described in SIC Codes 2833 to 2836, inclusive, those activities related to space vehicles and parts described in SIC Codes 3761 to 3769, inclusive, those activities related to space satellites and communications satellites and equipment described in SIC Codes 3663 and 3812 (but only with respect to “qualified property” that is placed in service on or after January 1, 1996), or those activities related to semiconductor equipment manufacturing described in SIC Code 3559 (but only with respect to “qualified property” that is placed in service on or after January 1, 1997), “qualified property” also includes the following:

(A)Special purpose buildings and foundations that are constructed or modified for use by the qualified taxpayer primarily in a manufacturing, processing, refining, or fabricating process, or as a research or storage facility primarily used in connection with a manufacturing process.

(B)The value of any capitalized labor costs that are directly allocable to the construction or modification of special purpose buildings and foundations that are used primarily in the manufacturing, processing, refining, or fabricating process, or as a research or storage facility primarily used in connection with a manufacturing process.

(C)(i)For purposes of this paragraph, “special purpose building and foundation” means only a building and the foundation immediately underlying the building that is specifically designed and constructed or reconstructed for the installation, operation, and use of specific machinery and equipment with a special purpose, which machinery and equipment, after installation, will become affixed to or a fixture of the real property, and the construction or reconstruction of which is specifically designed and used exclusively for the specified purposes as set forth in subparagraph (A) (“qualified purpose”).

(ii)A building is specifically designed and constructed or modified for a qualified purpose if it is not economical to design and construct the building for the intended purpose and then use the structure for a different purpose.

(iii)For purposes of clause (i) and clause (vi), a building is used exclusively for a qualified purpose only if its use does not include a use for which it was not specifically designed and constructed or modified. Incidental use of a building for nonqualified purposes does not preclude the building from being a special purpose building. “Incidental use” means a use which is both related and subordinate to the qualified purpose. It will be conclusively presumed that a use is not subordinate if more than one-third of the total usable volume of the building is devoted to a use which is not a qualified purpose.

(iv)In the event an entire building does not qualify as a special purpose building, a taxpayer may establish that a portion of a building, and the foundation immediately underlying the portion, qualifies for treatment as a special purpose building and foundation if the portion satisfies all of the definitional provisions in this subparagraph.

(v)To the extent that a building is not a special purpose building as defined above, but a portion of the building qualifies for treatment as a special purpose building, then all equipment which exclusively supports the qualified purpose occurring within that portion and which would qualify as Internal Revenue Code Section 1245 property if it were not a fixture or affixed to the building shall be treated as a cost of the portion of the building which qualifies for treatment as a special purpose building.

(vi)Buildings and foundations which do not meet the definition of a special purpose building and foundation set forth above include, but are not limited to: buildings designed and constructed or reconstructed principally to function as a general purpose manufacturing, industrial, or commercial building; research facilities that are used primarily prior to or after, or prior to and after, the manufacturing process; or storage facilities that are used primarily prior to or after, or prior to and after, completion of the manufacturing process. A research facility shall not be considered to be used primarily prior to or after, or prior to and after, the manufacturing process if its purpose and use relate exclusively to the development and regulatory approval of the manufacturing process for specific biopharmaceutical products. A research facility which is used primarily in connection with the discovery of an organism from which a biopharmaceutical product or process is developed does not meet the requirements of the preceding sentence.

(5)Subject to the provisions in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), qualified property also includes computer software that is primarily used for those purposes set forth in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subdivision.

(6)Qualified property does not include any of the following:

(A)Furniture.

(B)Facilities used for warehousing purposes after completion of the manufacturing process.

(C)Inventory.

(D)Equipment used in the extraction process.

(E)Equipment used to store finished products that have completed the manufacturing process.

(F)Any tangible personal property that is used in administration, general management, or marketing.

(G)Any vehicle for which a credit is claimed pursuant to Section 17052.11 or 23603.

(e)For purposes of this section:

(1)“Biopharmaceutical activities” means those activities that use organisms or materials derived from organisms, and their cellular, subcellular, or molecular components, in order to provide pharmaceutical products for human or animal therapeutics and diagnostics. Biopharmaceutical activities make use of living organisms to make commercial products, as opposed to pharmaceutical activities which make use of chemical compounds to produce commercial products.

(2)“Fabricating” means to make, build, create, produce, or assemble components or property to work in a new or different manner.

(3)“Manufacturing” means the activity of converting or conditioning property by changing the form, composition, quality, or character of the property for ultimate sale at retail or use in the manufacturing of a product to be ultimately sold at retail. Manufacturing includes any improvements to tangible personal property that result in a greater service life or greater functionality than that of the original property.

(4)“Other biotechnology activities” means activities consisting of the application of recombinant DNA technology to produce commercial products, as well as activities regarding pharmaceutical delivery systems designed to provide a measure of control over the rate, duration, and site of pharmaceutical delivery.

(5)“Primarily” means tangible personal property used 50 percent or more of the time in an activity described in subdivision (d).

(6)“Process” means the period beginning at the point at which any raw materials are received by the qualified taxpayer and introduced into the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity of the qualified taxpayer and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity of the qualified taxpayer has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required. Raw materials shall be considered to have been introduced into the process when the raw materials are stored on the same premises where the qualified taxpayer’s manufacturing, processing, refining, or recycling activity is conducted. Raw materials that are stored on premises other than where the qualified taxpayer’s manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity is conducted, shall not be considered to have been introduced into the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process.

(7)“Processing” means the physical application of the materials and labor necessary to modify or change the characteristics of property.

(8)“Refining” means the process of converting a natural resource to an intermediate or finished product.

(9)“Research and development” means those activities that are described in Section 174 of the Internal Revenue Code or in any regulations thereunder.

(10)“Small business” means a qualified taxpayer that meets any of the following requirements during the taxable year for which the credit is allowed:

(A)Has gross receipts of less than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000).

(B)Has net assets of less than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000).

(C)Has a total credit of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000).

(D)For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1997, is engaged in biopharmaceutical activities or other biotechnology activities that are described in Codes 2833 to 2836, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, and has not received regulatory approval for any product from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

(f)The credit allowed under subdivision (a) shall apply to qualified property that is acquired by or subject to lease by a qualified taxpayer, subject to the following special rules:

(1)A lessor of qualified property, irrespective of whether the lessor is a qualified taxpayer, shall not be allowed the credit provided under subdivision (a) with respect to any qualified property leased to another qualified taxpayer.

(2)For purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b), “binding contract” shall include any lease agreement with respect to the qualified property.

(3)(A)For purposes of determining the qualified cost paid or incurred by a lessee in any leasing transaction that is not treated as a sale under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001), the following rules shall apply:

(i)Except as provided by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall not apply.

(ii)Except as provided in subparagraph (B) and clause (iii), the “qualified cost” upon which the lessee shall compute the credit provided under this section shall be equal to the original cost to the lessor (within the meaning of Section 18031) of the qualified property that is the subject of the lease.

(iii)Except as provided in clause (iv), the requirement of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be treated as satisfied only if the lessor has made a timely election under either Section 6094.1 or subdivision (d) of Section 6244 and has paid sales tax reimbursement or use tax measured by the purchase price of the qualified property (within the meaning of paragraph (5) of subdivision (g) of Section 6006). For purposes of this subdivision and clause (iv), the amount of original cost to the lessor which may be taken into account under clause (ii) shall not exceed the purchase price upon which sales tax reimbursement or use tax has been paid under the preceding sentence or under clause (iv).

(iv)With respect to leases entered into between January 1, 1994, and the effective date of this clause, the lessor may elect to pay use tax measured by the purchase price of the property by reporting and paying the tax with the return of the lessor for the fourth calendar quarter of 1994. In computing the use tax under the preceding sentence, a credit shall be allowed under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) for all sales or use tax previously paid on the lease.

(B)For purposes of applying subparagraph (A) only, the following special rules shall apply:

(i)The original cost to the lessor of the qualified property shall be reduced by the amount of any original cost of that property that was taken into account by any predecessor lessee in computing the credit allowable under this section.

(ii)Clause (i) shall not apply in any case where the predecessor lessee was required to recapture the credit provided under this section pursuant to subdivision (g).

(iii)For purposes of this section only, in any case where a successor lessor has acquired qualified property from a predecessor lessor in a transaction not treated as a sale under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001), the original cost to the successor lessor of the qualified property shall be reduced by the amount of the original cost of the qualified property that was taken into account by any lessee of the predecessor lessor in computing the credit allowable under this section.

(C)In determining the original cost of any qualified property under this paragraph, only amounts paid or incurred by the lessor on or after January 1, 1994, and prior to the date this section ceases to be operative under paragraph (2) of subdivision (i), shall be taken into account. In the case of any qualified property constructed, reconstructed, or acquired by a lessor pursuant to a binding contract in existence on or prior to January 1, 1994, the allocation rule specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall apply in determining the original cost to the lessor of qualified property.

(D)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in the case of any leasing transaction for which the lessee is allowed the credit under this section and thereafter the lessee (or any party related to the lessee within the meaning of Section 267 or 318 of the Internal Revenue Code) acquires the qualified property from the lessor (or any successor lessor) within one year from the date the qualified property is first used by the lessee under the terms of the lease, the lessee’s (or related party’s) acquisition of the qualified property from the lessor (or successor lessor) shall be treated as a disposition by the lessee of the qualified property that was subject to the lease under subdivision (g).

(4)For purposes of determining the qualified cost paid or incurred by a lessee in any leasing transaction that is treated as a sale under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001), the following rules shall apply:

(A)Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be applied by substituting the term “purchase” for the term “construction, reconstruction, or acquisition.”

(B)Subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall apply.

(C)The requirement of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be treated as satisfied at the time that either the lessor or the qualified taxpayer pays sales or use tax under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001).

(5)(A)In the case of any leasing transaction described in paragraph (3), the lessor shall provide a statement to the lessee specifying the amount of the lessor’s original cost of the qualified property and the amount of that cost upon which a sales or use tax was paid within 45 days after the close of the lessee’s taxable year in which the credit is allowable to the lessee under this section.

(B)The statement required under subparagraph (A) shall be made available to the Franchise Tax Board upon request.

(6)For purposes of this subdivision, in the case of any qualified taxpayer engaged in those lines of business described in Codes 7371 to 7373, inclusive, of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition, “the first taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1998,” shall be substituted for “January 1, 1994,” in each place in which it appears. In addition, “the effective date of this paragraph” shall be substituted for “the effective date of this clause” and “fourth calendar quarter of 1998” shall be substituted for “fourth calendar quarter of 1994.”

(g)No credit shall be allowed if the qualified property is removed from the state, is disposed of to an unrelated party, or is used for any purpose not qualifying for the credit provided in this section in the same taxable year in which the qualified property is first placed in service in this state. If any qualified property for which a credit is allowed pursuant to this section is thereafter removed from this state, disposed of to an unrelated party, or used for any purpose not qualifying for the credit provided in this section within one year from the date the qualified property is first placed in service in this state, the amount of the credit allowed by this section for that qualified property shall be recaptured by adding that credit amount to the net tax of the qualified taxpayer for the taxable year in which the qualified property is disposed of, removed, or put to an ineligible use.

(h)In the case where the credit allowed by this section exceeds the “net tax,” the excess may be carried over to reduce the “net tax” in the following year, and succeeding years as follows:

(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for the seven succeeding years if necessary, until the credit is exhausted.

(2)In the case of a small business, for the nine succeeding years, if necessary, until the credit is exhausted.

(i)(1)This section shall remain in effect until the date specified in paragraph (2), on which date this section shall cease to be operative, and as of that date is repealed.

(2)This section shall cease to be operative on January 1, 2011.

(j)The amendments made by Chapter 954 of the Statutes of 1996 shall be operative for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1997, except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d).

(k)The amendments made by Chapter 323 of the Statutes of 1998 shall be operative for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1998.