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The Missouri 2010 Legislative Session ended last Friday with no changes to the Historic Tax Credits
A few of the challenges faced this year:
- House Bill 2399, which outlined the Governor's Tax Credit Reform Proposal. That proposal would create new statutes for 6 programs and give the Director of the Department of Economic Development extraordinary discretion. The first version of that bill completely eliminated historic provisions, and slashed the redevelopment tax credit funding category by 65%.
- Substitute for HB 2399 sought to cap Historic Tax Credits at $100 million, change the program to 20% from 25% tax credit and prohibit the combination of low income and historic tax credits on the same project.
- Substitute for SB 840 sought to propose sunsets on all tax credit programs by Jan 1, 2012.
Sadly, the end of the session is not the end of the battle. We anticipate an ongoing and increased discussion of the complete reformation of these tax credit programs. Too many people have the impression that historic tax credits are “out of control,” in spite of the fact that the program is capped and applicants are held to rigid reporting requirements for all costs.
It is important to note that cutting the Historic Tax Credit today would immediately stop new investment and would do nothing to replace the documented 43,000 jobs, $670 million in taxes and $2.9 billion in private investment created by this program (St. Louis University Study 2010). Historic Tax Credit projects created 4,900 jobs in fiscal year 2007 (FY2007, MO Department of Economic Development).
The Historic Tax Credit program is an effective and PROVEN jobs and economic development tool!!
We should also emphasize that this is not a question of education or economic development. As Daniel P. Mehan, Missouri Chamber President and CEO, said in a recent press release: “Now, more than ever, Missouri needs a balanced approach that addresses both the needs of job creation and systems to provide an educated workforce…The two do not work against each other. They go hand in hand.”
We will keep you updated during the upcoming months regarding the continued discussion of the tax credit reformation efforts. |
