(A) A taxpayer may claim as a credit against his state income tax, bank tax, or premium tax liability thirty-three percent of all equity investments in a certified community development corporation or in a community development financial institution, as defined in § 34-43-20(2) or (3). A taxpayer that makes a cash donation to a certified community development corporation or community development financial institution may claim a credit equal to fifty percent of the donation.

To qualify for this credit the taxpayer must obtain a certificate from the South Carolina Department of Commerce certifying that the entity into which the funds are invested is a community development corporation or a community development financial institution within the meaning of § 34-43-20(2) or (3) and certifying that the credit taken or available to that taxpayer will not exceed the annual aggregate dollar limitation provided in subsection (B). A taxpayer who invested in good faith in a certified corporation or institution may claim the credit provided in this section, notwithstanding the fact that the certification is later revoked or not renewed by the department.

(B)(1) The total amount of credits allowed pursuant to this section may not exceed in the aggregate five million dollars for all taxpayers and all calendar years and one million dollars for all taxpayers in one calendar year.

(2) Notwithstanding item (1), the aggregate limit for all taxpayers in all tax years set forth in item (1) is increased by one million dollars. This additional one million dollars may only be used for credits earned and certificates issued in tax years beginning after 2018.

(3) Notwithstanding items (1) and (2), the aggregate limit for all taxpayers in all tax years set forth in items (1) and (2) is increased by three million dollars. Of this additional three million dollars, only one million dollars may be used for credits earned and certificates issued in tax year 2021, and the remaining two million dollars only may be used for credits earned and certificates issued for tax years beginning after 2021.

(C) The Department of Commerce shall authorize the tax credits each year on a first-come, first-served basis. A single community development corporation or community development financial institution may not receive more than twenty-five percent of the total annual tax credits authorized pursuant to this section. Twenty-five percent of annual tax credits must be held in a reserve account during the first three quarters of each tax year and made available exclusively to small, rural-based, community development corporations. During the first three quarters of any tax year, an individual community development corporation or a community development financial institution must not be authorized to receive more than fifteen percent of the statewide total annual credits. During the fourth quarter of each tax year, all remaining tax credits are available to all certified community development corporations or community development financial institutions.

(D) The department shall monitor the investments made by taxpayers in community development corporations and community development financial institutions as permitted by this section and shall perform the functions as provided in subsections (A) and (C).

(E) If the amount of the credit determined, pursuant to subsection (A), exceeds the taxpayer’s state tax liability for the applicable taxable year, the taxpayer may carry over the excess to the immediately succeeding taxable years. However, the credit carry-over may not be used for a taxable year that begins on or after three years from the date of the acquisition of stock or other equity interest that is the basis for a credit pursuant to this section. The amount of the credit carry-over from a taxable year must be reduced to the extent that the carry-over is used by the taxpayer to obtain a credit provided for in this section for a later taxable year.

(F) The department must not authorize any tax credits after the annual aggregate limitation set forth in subsection (B) has been reached.

(G) If stock or another equity interest that is the basis for a credit provided for in this section is redeemed by the community development corporation or the community development financial institution within five years of the date it is acquired, the credit provided by this section for the stock or other equity interest is disallowed, and credit previously claimed and allowed with respect to the redeemed stock or other equity interest must be paid to the Department of Revenue with the appropriate return of the taxpayer covering the period in which the redemption occurred. When payments are made to the Department of Revenue pursuant to this section, the amount collected must be handled as if no credit had been allowed.

(H) To receive the credit provided by this section, a taxpayer shall:

(1) claim the credit on his annual state income or premium tax return as prescribed by the Department of Revenue; and

(2) file with the Department of Revenue and with his annual state income or premium tax return a copy of the form issued by the department as to the stock or other equity interest that is the basis for a credit claimed pursuant to this section, by the taxpayer, including an undertaking by the taxpayer to report to the Department of Revenue a redemption of the stock or other equity interest by the community development corporation or the community development financial institution.

(I) The department shall complete forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue which must show as to each stock or other equity interest in a community development corporation or a community development financial institution that is the basis for a credit pursuant to this section:

(1) the name, address, and identification number of the taxpayer who acquired the stock or other equity interest; and

(2) the nature of the stock or other equity interest acquired by the taxpayer and the amount advanced for it.

These forms must be filed with the Department of Revenue on or before the fifteenth day of the third month following the month in which the stock or other equity interest is acquired. Copies of the forms to be provided to the Department of Revenue must be mailed to the taxpayer on or before the fifteenth day of the second month following the month in which the acquisition is made.

(J) A taxpayer may not claim the tax credit provided in this section unless the community development corporation or community development financial institution in which the investment is made has been certified at the time the investment is made.

(K) If the community development financial institution in which the investment is made is a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation, the tax credit provided in this section is not allowed if the taxpayer claims the investment as a deduction pursuant to Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(L) Banks and financial institutions with tax liabilities in this State may invest in community development corporations and community development financial institutions incorporated pursuant to the laws of this State, up to a maximum of ten percent of a chartered bank or financial institution’s total capital and surplus.

(M) Returns on investments in certified community development corporations and certified community development financial institutions, including the value of any tax credits authorized pursuant to this section, may not exceed the total amount of initial investment in certified community development corporations and community development financial institutions.