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]]> http://ntcicfunds.com/2012/02/14/22012-historic-tax-credit-recapture-study-supports-continued-exemption-from-volcker-rule-article-by-john-leith-tetrault-in-novogradac-co-s-journal-of-tax-credits/feed/ 0 http://ntcicfunds.com/2012/02/08/senators-come-together-to-support-preservation-legislation/ http://ntcicfunds.com/2012/02/08/senators-come-together-to-support-preservation-legislation/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:07:13 +0000 NTCIC http://ntcicfunds.com/?p=3609 Written by Erica Stewart

February 6, 2012 was a big day for fans of skilled jobs, green building and community revitalization through historic preservation. Yesterday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) announced that he, along with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), would introduce new Senate legislation that would encourage historic rehabilitation in Main Street communities, promote energy-efficiency in rehabilitation projects, and make the credit more accessible to nonprofit organizations. This legislation was introduced in the House last summer, and achieving Senate introduction was the next big milestone for the National Trust and its allies.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) speaking at the historic Clifton Mansion in Baltimore. (Photos: Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage)

The new legislation, the Creating American Prosperity through Preservation (CAPP) Act, would make an already powerful federal historic credit even more so. Over 32 years, the credit has created 2 million jobs; saved 37,000 historic warehouses, factories, and schools; and attracted $90 billion to local economies.

Senator Cardin made his announcement at a press conference at historic Clifton Mansion, which now houses Civic Works, a nonprofit that helps young people prepare for the workforce. The mansion, located in a low-income section of northeast Baltimore, is a poster child for how historic preservation, green energy and community development can intersect – with the federal historic tax credit being the catalyst. Civic Works’ Executive Director Dana Stein talked passionately about how the historic tax credits will make possible the mansion’s $7 million makeover, which will seek LEED Gold certification (a great goal considering their current $17,000 monthly energy bill).

More hard work lies ahead for the National Trust and its allies. Now that both bills have been introduced, our attention will turn toward getting members of Congress on board as co-sponsors. Despite its track record of job creation and community revitalization, the impact of the federal historic tax credit is not widely understood.

In the words of National Trust president Stephanie Meeks, the historic tax credit is simply too important to lose. We will be working hard to educate lawmakers about the power of the federal historic tax credit and the importance of the CAPP legislation. And we’ll need your help.

To join our effort, please take a minute to sign our pledge to help protect and enhance the historic tax credit. 

Erica Stewart is the outreach coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Public Affairs department.

Watch Senator Cardin in action talking about the CAPP Act at Baltimore’s historic Clifton Mansion:

CONTACT: Susan Sullam, 410-962-4436 or

410-960-2440 (cell)

February 6, 2012

CARDIN SPONSORS BILL TO CREATE JOBS BY MAKING IT EASIER TO RESTORE

 HISTORIC PROPERTIES

Bill Would Increase Number of Restoration Projects and Reward Energy-Efficient Improvements

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would create jobs in Maryland and the nation through the restoration of historic buildings.  Senator Cardin unveiled the legislation at Baltimore’s historic Clifton Mansion, once the summer home of Johns Hopkins and now the headquarters for the AmeriCorps program Civic Works.  U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is co-sponsoring the bill.

“I am extremely proud of this bill because it will help ensure that historic properties are restored and made useful once again, while creating jobs that will stimulate greater economic activity,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Finance Committee.  “The Historic Tax Credit has created some 2 million jobs nationwide since 1978 and by expanding the program to include energy-efficient improvements and additional restoration projects, we can create thousands of new jobs in renovating historic properties.”

“The federal Historic Tax Credit program is a great instrument for renovating historic buildings such as the Clifton Mansion.  Senator Cardin’s legislation will expand the impact of the tax credit to many more historic properties,” said Dana Stein, Executive Director of Civic Works.

“The federal historic tax credit has proven to be a cost-effective creator of jobs and economic activity for more than thirty years,” said Tom Cassidy, vice president of Government Relations and Policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The CAPP Act will ensure that, in the future, more “Main Street” communities can benefit from its revitalization effects, and nonprofit organizations can more easily access the credit to bring jobs and services to disinvested areas.”

Congress created historic preservation tax benefits in 1976 to encourage voluntary, private-sector investment in preserving historic buildings. The program is jointly managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in partnership with State Historic Preservation Offices.

Since their creation, these tax incentives have leveraged more than $90 billion of private-sector investment ($5 of private investment for every $1 of HTC) to preserve and rehabilitate more than 37,000 historic properties, including the creation of over 185,000 housing units, of which more than 75,000 are low and moderate-income units.  In the process, such historic preservation programs have created more than 2 million jobs nationwide since 1978.  In Maryland, the tax credit created more than 18,700 jobs from 2001 to 2011.

In Maryland, $228 million in federal historic tax credits have leveraged $1.1 billion in rehabilitation expenditures on 352 projects since 2001. Some of these projects include:

• CASA de Maryland in Langley Park, which received $1.4 million in federal HTC equity (out of a total funding cost of $10 million).
• The American Brewery Building in Baltimore, a $24 million development that received $5.3 million in HTC and New Market Tax Credit.  The rehabilitation of the building created 157 construction jobs and 175 permanent jobs.
• Clifton Mansion, headquarters of the AmeriCorps program Civic Works, will be using $1.1 million in federal HTCs as it undergoes a $7 million renovation.

The Creating American Prosperity Through Preservation (CAPP) Act would:

• Help smaller projects by increasing the credit from 20 percent to 30 percent for projects with $5 million or less in Qualified Rehabilitation Expenditures.  The increase in the credit amount will aid the financing for rehabilitation of small buildings and buildings in rural areas.
• Index the date for the 10 percent credit for non-historic older buildings so more are eligible for rehabilitation.
• Support the 30 states that have enacted state historic tax credits to encourage the development of historic properties by eliminating the federal taxation of the proceeds of state credits transferred through partnerships and sold as state tax certificates.
• Promote energy-efficiency and operating cost-savings by encouraging developers to use energy-efficient technology.
• Facilitate the reuse of older buildings by nonprofits, creating projects with high community benefit, while also stimulating on-going job and economic growth in low-income, underserved areas.

To qualify for the HTC, properties must be income-producing and must be rehabilitated according to standards set by the Secretary of the Interior.  Currently, the HTC provides 20-percent credit for the rehabilitation of a certified historic structure, plus 10 percent credit for older, non-historic buildings first placed into service before 1936.

–##–

Dear Friend of Historic Preservation,

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a plan for an economy that’s “built to last” — one that revolves around “American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.”

We’d like to offer the perfect complement to that vision — a program that for more than thirty years has quietly and effectively created skilled American jobs, stimulated local economies, and revitalized historic buildings and communities built to last. This program is the federal historic tax credit.

Pledge your support today for this vital economic program, and help communities prosper through preservation.

You may never have heard of it, but you’ve seen what it can do. Consider Boston’s Faneuil Hall, the Ferry Building in San Francisco and the Apollo Theater in New York City. These iconic structures and 37,000 others were rehabilitated with the help of the historic tax credit — generating 2 million jobs, attracting $90 billion in private investment, and revitalizing communities nationwide in the process.

The best part? This program more than pays for itself. In the 32 years of the program, the amount of tax credits paid by the U.S. Treasury is far less than the amount of federal taxes generated by these projects.

The worst part? The federal historic tax credit is now in danger. Tax reform on Capitol Hill threatens to reduce or even eliminate this powerful economic development tool.

Now is not the time to cut programs proven to create jobs. We need you to join our campaign to raise awareness of the impact of historic preservation. Take our pledge and join our fight to help our communities prosper through preservation and keep the federal historic tax credit off the chopping block.

Thank you,

Your Friends at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and NTCIC

A program that for more than 30 years has created two million jobs, leveraged $90 billion in investment and rehabilitated more than 37,000 existing buildings — while more than paying for itself — is in danger. Deficit reduction measures are currently being debated on Capitol Hill, and the federal historic tax credit (HTC) program is at risk. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has called for the total elimination of the credit, while a centrist Democratic group, the Third Way, is recommending the historic tax credit be reduced from 20% to 10%.

These very real threats reveal that Congress does not recognize the credit’s track record of revitalizing cities and towns while returning vacant or underutilized historic buildings to a productive, taxable use. With your help, we can make the case that this program is essential to creating jobs and vibrant communities where residents new and existing, young and old want to live, work and visit.

Join The Campaign

With the National Trust for Historic Preservation, our message to Capitol Hill is to protect the historic tax credit from harmful reductions by supporting H.R. 2479, the Creating American Prosperity through Preservation or CAPP Act. Introduced by Representatives Schock (R-IL) and Blumenauer (D-OR), the CAPP Act would greatly enhance the historic tax credit’s impact on local economies. We are working toward Senate introduction in the next few months.

Join us to keep historic tax credits off the chopping block and in communities where they create jobs, stimulate investment and fuel local economies!

What You Can Do

• Send a letter to your Representative urging their support for historic tax credits by cosponsoring the CAPP Act.
• Sign your company/organization’s name to a support letter for the CAPP legislation.

Visit Preservation Nation for full details – click here

On November 21st, the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has released their Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Report showing the economic impact of the first year of this incentive.

Revitalizing communities, stimulating job growth and increasing the tax base are the goals of the Minnesota Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, which was signed into law in April 2010. A report to the State Legislature about the economic impact of projects leveraged by the first year of the tax credit is now ready, and it shows a bright spot in an otherwise challenging economic landscape.

The report describes job creation benefits, particularly within the construction industry, as well as educational and community-building aspects of preserving our historic past.

The report is available online at www.mnhs.org/taxcredit.

The Minnesota Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit allows for eligible property owners to receive a state income tax credit of up to 20% of qualifying expenses or a grant in lieu of the credit. The state tax credit works in combination with a federal 20% tax credit. In the first year of the credit, which ended June 30, 2011, 14 projects received approval, including the Emerge Career & Technology Center. (Additional projects outside the scope of the report are underway.)

The report was prepared by the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality.

MN Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit The Program At-A-Glance – November, 2011
MN Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit as Job Creation
MN Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program as Economic Development

For more information about the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, please visit http://www.mnpreservation.org/