(a) A person that is an owner of a liquefied natural gas storage facility described in (b) of this section that commences commercial operation before January 1, 2020, may apply a refundable credit against a tax liability that may be imposed on the person under this chapter or receive the amount of the credit in the form of a payment for the taxable year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility commences commercial operation. The tax credit or payment under this section may not exceed the lesser of $15,000,000 or 50 percent of the costs incurred to establish or expand the liquefied natural gas storage facility. The tax credit in this section is in addition to any other credit under this chapter for which the person is eligible.

(b) To qualify for the credit in this section, a liquefied natural gas storage facility

(1) must have a liquefied natural gas storage volume of not less than 25,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas, or, if the credit is claimed for an expansion, the expansion must have increased the capacity of an existing liquefied natural gas storage facility by more than 25,000 gallons;

(2) may not have been in operation as a liquefied natural gas storage facility before January 1, 2011, unless the tax credit in this section is based on the expansion of the liquefied natural gas storage facility after December 31, 2011;

(3) must be regulated under AS 42.05 as a utility and be available to furnish the service of liquefied natural gas storage to customers, utilities, or industrial facilities; in this paragraph, “service of liquefied natural gas storage” has the meaning given in AS 42.05.990;

(4) if located on state land and leased or subject to a lease under AS 38.05, must be in compliance with the terms of the lease; and

(5) must have commenced commercial operation on or before the date the person takes a credit under (a) of this section or applies for a payment under (a) of this section.

(c) To claim the credit or request a payment, a person shall submit to the department a certification of the capacity of the liquefied natural gas storage facility measured in gallons or the capacity of an expansion to an existing liquefied natural gas storage facility measured in gallons, the date that the liquefied natural gas storage facility commenced commercial operation, the date that any expansion to the liquefied natural gas storage facility commenced commercial operation, and other information required by the department.

(d) A person applying the credit under this section against a liability under this chapter shall claim the credit on the person's return. A person entitled to a tax credit under this section that is greater than the person's tax liability under this chapter may request a refund or payment in the amount of the unused portion of the tax credit.

(e) Subject to the requirements in AS 43.55.028, the department may use either money available in the oil and gas tax credit fund established in AS 43.55.028 or, subject to appropriation by the legislature, money disbursed to the commissioner for refunds and payments under AS 43.55.028 from the Alaska Tax Credit Certificate Bond Corporation reserve fund established in AS 37.18.040, or both, to make a refund or payment under (d) of this section in whole or in part if the department finds that, after application of all available tax credits, the claimant's total tax liability under this chapter for the calendar year in which the claim is made is zero.

(f) For the purpose of determining the amount of the credit under this section, the costs incurred to establish a liquefied natural gas storage facility or to expand a liquefied natural gas storage facility shall be submitted to the department with verification by an independent certified public accountant licensed in the state. The volume of working liquefied natural gas storage or volume of the expansion to an existing liquefied natural gas storage facility shall be verified by a professional engineer licensed in the state with relevant experience.

(g) A person may not receive a credit under this section for the acquisition of a liquefied natural gas storage facility for which a credit has been taken under this section.

(h) If the liquefied natural gas storage facility for which a credit was received under this section ceases commercial operation during the nine calendar years immediately following the calendar year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility commences commercial operation, the tax liability under this chapter of the person who claimed the credit shall be increased, and a person not subject to the tax under this chapter that received a payment under (d) and (e) of this section shall be liable to the state in the amount determined in this subsection. The amount of the increase in tax liability or liability to the state

(1) for a person subject to the tax under this chapter, shall be determined and assessed for the taxable year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility ceases commercial operation, regardless of whether the liquefied natural gas storage facility subsequently resumes commercial operation;

(2) for a person not subject to the tax due under this chapter, shall be determined and assessed as of December 31 of the calendar year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility ceases commercial operation, regardless of whether the liquefied natural gas storage facility subsequently resumes commercial operation; and

(3) is equal to the total amount of the credit taken or received as a payment under (d) of this section, as applicable, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the difference between 10 and the number of calendar years for which the liquefied natural gas storage facility was eligible for a tax credit under this section and the denominator of which is 10.

(i) The issuance of a refund under this section does not limit the department's ability to later audit or adjust the claim if the department determines, as a result of the audit, that the person that claimed the credit was not entitled to the amount of the credit. The tax liability of the person receiving the credit under this section is increased by the amount of the credit that exceeds that to which the person was entitled. If the tax liability is increased under this subsection, the increase bears interest at the rate set by AS 43.05.225 from the date the refund was issued.

(j) A person claiming a tax credit under this section for a liquefied natural gas storage facility that ceases commercial operation within nine calendar years immediately following the calendar year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility commences commercial operation shall notify the department in writing of the date the liquefied natural gas storage facility ceased commercial operation. The notice must be filed with the return for the taxable year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility ceases commercial operation.

(k) A refund under this section does not bear interest.

(l) In this section,

(1) “ceases commercial operation” means that the liquefied natural gas storage facility fails to add or withdraw 20 percent or more of its working capacity of liquefied natural gas during a calendar year after the calendar year in which the liquefied natural gas storage facility commences commercial operation;

(2) “commences commercial operation” means the first input of liquefied natural gas into a liquefied natural gas storage facility for purposes other than testing;

(3) “liquefied natural gas storage facility” has the meaning given in AS 42.05.990.