RFP Staff
♦ The North Carolina State budget pulls the plug in the Historic Preservation Tax Credit at years end. In a Raleigh press conference Tuesday, House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate Leader Phil Berger stated the Historic Preservation Tax Credit would no longer be extended when it expires at years end. An outside possibility might occur if a move by the House Finance committee materializes which may include a much paler form of the program.
Speaker Tillis said the Historic Preservation Tax Credit is inconsistent with the Republican’s tax reform plan which aims to spur economic development and level the playing field by lowering tax rates across the board and getting rid of loopholes for specific industries or business sectors.
Observers of the Historic Tax Credit have long noted its abuses across the state as a free cash cow for non profit organizations making a buck on the taxpayer’s back. Favored non profit “historic” organizations may use these tax credits to “rehab” buildings of questionable history and play the “renovate and recycle game”.
With Historic Preservation Tax Credit ending, more historic renovation projects will become unattractive and fall by the wayside. On the upside this will spur the demolition of numerous decrepit and obsolete buildings, leading to healthier and more modern downtowns.
