(1) If an employer has entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to section 77-6549, the employer shall during each year of the earning period receive the wage retention credit approved by the director in the manner provided in the Grow the Good Life Act.

(2) The wage retention credit shall equal five percent of the total compensation paid by the employer in the year to all retained employees of the employer in Nebraska who are paid wages for services rendered at a rate equal to at least one hundred percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application. The wage retention credit earned for all qualified employers shall not exceed five million dollars in any year. If two or more employers qualify for benefits in any given year, the employer with the largest average number of employees within Nebraska during the ten years prior to the change in ownership or control shall be fully funded first.

(3) The wage retention credits received in the earning period shall be used during the usage period. Unused credits may carry over only to the end of the usage period.

(4) The total amount all employers may receive in credits pursuant to the Grow the Good Life Act shall not exceed fifty million dollars. If two or more employers qualify for benefits, the one with the earlier approval will be fully funded first. This benefit is in addition to any benefits the employer may otherwise qualify for under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act or may have qualified for previously under the Nebraska Advantage Act or the Employment and Investment Growth Act.

(5) The wage retention credit shall be claimed by filing the forms required by the Tax Commissioner with the employer's income tax return. The credits may be used after any other nonrefundable credits to reduce the employer's income tax liability imposed by sections 77-2714 to 77-27,135. Credits may be used beginning with the taxable year which includes December 31 of the first year in the usage period. The last year for which credits may be used is the taxable year which includes December 31 of the last year of the usage period. Any decision on how part of the credit is applied shall not limit how the remaining credit could be applied under this section.

(6) The employer may use the wage retention credit to reduce the employer's income tax withholding employer or payor tax liability under section 77-2756 or 77-2757. To the extent of the credit used, such withholding shall not constitute public funds or state tax revenue and shall not constitute a trust fund or be owned by the state. The use by the employer of the credit shall not change the amount that otherwise would be reported by the employer to the employee under section 77-2754 as income tax withheld and shall not reduce the amount that otherwise would be allowed by the state as a refundable credit on an employee's income tax return as income tax withheld under section 77-2755.