Section 7-40-103 - Chapter definitionsAs used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Base tax revenues" means the revenues generated from the collection of state sales and use taxes from all businesses within the applicable border region retail tourism development district as of the end of the fiscal year of this state immediately prior to the year in which the municipality or industrial development corporation is entitled to receive an allocation of tax revenue pursuant to this chapter. In no event shall the apportionment pursuant to this chapter be adjusted to reduce the economic benefit to the municipality as is provided in this chapter;(2) "Best interests of the state" means a determination by the commissioner of revenue, with approval by the commissioner of economic and community development, that: (A) The economic development project or extraordinary retail or tourism facility within the district is a result of the special allocation and distribution of state sales tax provided for in § 7-40-106; and(B) The district is a result of the project or extraordinary retail or tourism facility;(3) "Border region retail tourism development district" or "district" means one (1) or more parcels of real property located within a municipality, some part of whose corporate limits borders a neighboring state, and which some boundary of a district is no more than one-half (½) mile from an existing federally-designated interstate exit, is no more than twelve (12) miles from a state border as measured by straight line, is no larger than a total area of nine hundred fifty (950) acres, and designated as a border region retail tourism development district by a municipal ordinance and certified by the commissioner;(4) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of revenue;(5)(A) "Cost" means all cost of an economic development project in a district incurred by the municipality or industrial development corporation during the investment period, including, but not limited to, the cost of developing the district, as well as acquisition, design, construction, renovation, improvement, demolition, and relocation of any improvements; the cost of labor, materials, and equipment; the cost of all lands, property rights, easements and franchises required; financing charges, interest, and debt service prior to, during, or after construction; the cost of issuing bonds in connection with any financing, cost of plans and specifications, services and estimates of costs and of revenue; cost of direct or indirect assistance, including funds for location assistance; cost of site preparation, engineering, accounting, and legal services; all expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of such acquisitions or constructions; salaries, overhead, and other costs of the municipality or industrial development corporation allocated to the project, including new development or subsequent phases of the project to be completed within the thirty-five-year period established in § 7-40-104(d), and administrative, legal, and engineering expenses and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to such acquisition, design, construction, renovation, demolition, relocation, or the financing thereof, including any such costs incurred by a municipality or industrial development corporation relating to the development of an extraordinary retail or tourism facility within two (2) years prior to the municipality's designation of the proposed border region retail tourism development district for such project;(B) "Cost" does not include: (i) Expenses for travel, meals, entertainment, motor vehicle expenses, meeting expenses, office expenses, developer salaries, or taxes; or(ii) Commissions, fees, or other costs paid to or received from an affiliated entity that otherwise receives an incentive under this chapter. For purposes of this subdivision (5)(B)(ii), "affiliated" means that one (1) entity has a direct or indirect ownership interest in the other entity, or the two (2) entities share one (1) or more common owners;(6) "Direct or indirect assistance" or "direct or indirect financial assistance" includes, with respect to all costs submitted for reimbursement on or after July 1, 2011:(A) Location assistance to a tenant for purposes of incentivizing a tenant to locate a project within a border region retail tourism development district; and(B) Discounts on rent that: (i) Are provided to a tenant pursuant to a lease agreement that was executed before the expiration of the investment period;(ii) Accrue annually based on the amount of rent discounted during each respective year;(iii) Equal the difference between the actual rent paid and the fair market value of rent at the time the lease was executed using generally accepted valuation practices; and(iv) Accrue through the thirty-five-year period established in § 7-40-104(d), or the termination of the original lease, whichever occurs first;(7) "Economic development project" or "project" means the provision of direct or indirect financial assistance, including funds for location assistance, to an extraordinary retail or tourism facility and other retail or tourism facilities developed to accompany the extraordinary retail or tourism facility in a border region retail tourism development district by a municipality or an industrial development corporation including, but not limited to, the purchase, lease, grant, construction, reconstruction, improvement, or other acquisition or conveyance of land, buildings or equipment, or other infrastructure; public works improvements essential to the location of an extraordinary retail or tourism facility and other retail or tourism facilities developed to accompany the extraordinary retail or tourism facility; payments for professional services contracts necessary for a municipality or industrial development corporation to implement a plan or project; the provision of direct loans or grants for land, buildings, or infrastructure; and loan guarantees securing the cost of land, buildings, location assistance, or infrastructure in an amount not to exceed the revenue that may be derived from the sales and use tax transferred to the municipality as provided in this chapter. It also includes development of parks, plazas, sidewalks, access ways, roads, drives, bridges, ramps, landscaping, signage, parking lots, parking structures, and other public improvements constructed or renovated by the municipality or an industrial development corporation in connection with the project in the district and any related infrastructure and utility improvements for public or private peripheral development for the district and which is constructed, renovated, or installed by the municipality or an industrial development corporation;(8) "Extraordinary retail or tourism facility" means a single store, series of stores, or other public tourism facility or facilities located within a border region retail tourism development district, or any combination of a single store, series of stores, or public tourism facility or facilities, and shall include retail or other public tourism facilities, or any combination of such retail and public tourism facilities that are reasonably anticipated to draw at least one million (1,000,000) visitors a year upon completion. The extraordinary retail or tourism facility shall reasonably be expected to require a capital investment of at least twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) including land, buildings, site preparation costs, and is reasonably anticipated to remit at least two million dollars ($2,000,000) in state sales and use tax, annually, when completed. The thresholds set forth in this subdivision (7) shall be met based on the performance or reasonably anticipated performance of the projects in the district as a whole, and the commissioner does not have the discretion to exclude consideration of the cost to develop any business in a district;(9) "Industrial development corporation" means a corporation created or authorized by a municipality or county pursuant to chapter 53 of this title;(10) "Investment period" means a period beginning two (2) years prior to the municipality's designation of the proposed border region retail tourism development district for the project and ending fifteen (15) years after certification of the district pursuant to § 7-40-104(a)(5);(11) "Municipal governing body" means the city council, city commission, or board of mayor and aldermen of a city; and(12) "Municipality" means an incorporated city located in this state.Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1006,s 2, eff. 5/28/2024.Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1006,s 1, eff. 5/28/2024.Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 582, s 1, eff. 5/27/2021.Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 511, Secs.s 2, s 5 eff. 6/3/2019.Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 804, s 1, eff. 4/24/2018. Acts 2011 , ch. 420, § 4; 2012, ch. 1092, §§ 1, 2.