Each year, PM staff travels to DC to meet with our congressional delegation, discuss historic preservation and urge their support if key federal programs. One of those programs, the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, came under fire last week when Rep. Camp, chair of House Ways and Means released a bill for comprehensive tax reform. Section 223 of that legislation called for the repeal of the FHRTC, believing that the nation's economy would benefit without it.
Ever since tax reform discussions began last year, PM and other state and national preservation partners have worked to better educate Congress and key policy makers about the incredible benefits of the FHRTC. Luckily, PM is in Washington DC this week for National Preservation Advocacy Week to face this head on.
Though there is feeling they Rep. Camp's bill will not be passed, it can serve as a roadmap for future tax discussions. What PM will be conveying to Congress is that the FHRTC is a huge economic driver and job creator for our country. Since it's inception it had leveraged $109 billion in private investment, created 2.4 million jobs while revitalizing the historic core of our cities and towns. The FHRTC brings in an average of over $220 million in credit allocations annually to Massachusetts, due in large part to our state historic tax credit program.
Today and tomorrow PM staff and other preservation partners from Massachusetts will be meeting with Congress and urging their support for protecting the FHRTC and the benefits it brings to our towns, our state and our country.
What can you do?
Call your congressman today and tell them to protect the FHRTC program!
Ask them to help improve the program by signing on to the CAPP Act (Creating American Prosperity through Preservation). The bill is pending introduction by Reps. Schock and Blumenaur in the House and is bill S.1141 in the Senate, introduced by Sen. Cardin and Collins.
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author and not necessarily the opinion of the editors of PreservationDirectory.com.
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