(1)

(a) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(I) Nearly two thousand four hundred Coloradans are currently on the waiting list for lifesaving organ transplants, and ninety-six percent of those people could receive an organ, such as a kidney or liver, from a living donor;

(II) Last year, two hundred fifty-eight Coloradans died or became too sick to remain on the waiting list, which is thirty-eight percent more than all the homicides in the state;

(III) These lives would be saved if more people became living donors;

(IV) If just one out of one thousand one hundred adults in the state became living donors, the waiting list for kidney and liver transplants in the state would be eradicated; and

(V) The ability to get paid time off work is an enormous barrier for living organ donors, and the loss of income and fear of losing their job has deterred many would-be donors.

(b) Now, therefore, the general assembly declares that the intended purpose of the tax credit in this section is to support living donors and the companies that employ them.

(2) As used in this section:

(a) "Employee" has the same meaning as set forth in section 39-22-604 (2)(a).

(b) "Leave of absence period" means the period, not exceeding ten working days or the hourly equivalent of ten working days per employee, during which a taxpayer provides a paid leave of absence to an employee for the purpose of organ donation. The term does not include a period during which an employee utilizes any annual leave or sick days that the employee has been given by the employer.

(c) "Taxpayer" means an employer that deducts and withholds amounts from the wages paid to a qualified employee pursuant to section 39-22-604 (3).

(d) "Wages" has the same meaning as set forth in section 3401 (a) of the internal revenue code.

(3) Except as set forth in subsection (4) of this section, for any income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2025, a taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax imposed by this article 22 that is an amount equal to thirty-five percent of the taxpayer's expenses incurred:

(a) Paying an employee during his or her leave of absence period; and

(b) For the cost of temporary replacement help, if any, during an employee's leave of absence period.

(4) A taxpayer shall not claim a tax credit under this section related to a leave of absence period for an employee who the taxpayer pays wages of eighty thousand dollars or more during the income tax year.

(5) If the amount of a credit under this section exceeds a taxpayer's actual tax liability for an income tax year, the amount of the credit not used to offset income tax liability for the income tax year is not refunded to the taxpayer. The taxpayer may carry forward and apply the unused credit against the income tax due in each of the five succeeding income tax years, but the taxpayer shall apply the credit against the income tax due for the earliest of the income tax years possible. Any amount of the tax credit that is not used after this period is not refundable.

(6) Upon request of the department of revenue as part of an audit, a taxpayer must provide the department with documentation from the employee's medical provider, which the taxpayer received from the employee, that verifies the employee's organ donation. If the taxpayer cannot provide the documentation, then the taxpayer is ineligible for the credit under this section.