(1) The general assembly declares that the intended purpose of the tax refund created in this section is to encourage broadband providers to deploy broadband infrastructure in rural areas of the state.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Broadband provider" means a person that provides broadband service.
"Broadband service" means any communications service having the capacity to transmit data to enable a subscriber to the service to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video at speeds of at least four megabits per second for download and one megabit per second for upload or the federal communications commission's definition of broadband service, whichever is faster.
"Target area" means the unincorporated part of a county or a municipality with apopulation of less than thirty thousand people, according to the most recently available population statistics of the United States bureau of the census.
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, for the calendar year commencing January 1, 2014, and for each calendar year thereafter, a broadband provider is allowed to claim a refund of all the state sales and use tax the provider pays pursuant to parts 1 and 2 of this article for tangible personal property that is installed in a target area for the provision of broadband service.
To claim the refund allowed by subsection (3) of this section, a taxpayer must submita refund application to the department of revenue, on a form provided by the department, no earlier than January 1 and no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the tax is paid. Along with the application, the taxpayer must provide proof of the state sales and use taxes paid by the broadband provider in the immediately preceding calendar year and proof that the tangible personal property was deployed in a target area for the provision of broadband service. A taxpayer must also provide any additional information with the application that the department of revenue requires by rule, which may include, without limitation, a detailed list of all expenditures that support a claim for a refund, the name and addresses of an individual who maintains records of such expenditures, and a statement that the taxpayer agrees to furnish records of all such expenditures to the department of revenue upon request. The department shall not refund any moneys to a taxpayer unless the taxpayer has complied with this subsection (4).
The total amount of the refunds made under this section may not exceed one milliondollars for a calendar year. The department of revenue shall not pay a refund for a calendar year until after the application deadline set forth in subsection (4) of this section has passed. If the total amount of approved refunds exceeds one million dollars, the department shall prorate the refunds made to all taxpayers.
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (HB 14-1327), ch. 149, p. 510, § 7, effective August 6.
Cross references: For the short title ("Broadband Deployment Act") in HB 14-1327, see section 1 of chapter 149, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.