Historic Tax Credits: Its About JOBS!

As many of you are well aware, the Missouri Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program is under threat of a severe cut which is being proposed by Missouri's legislators. Senate Bill SB 120 proposes to reduce the current $140 million cap on Missouri Historic Tax Credits to $45 million, less than a THIRD of the current limit! This would effectively bring historic rehabilitation projects in Missouri to a standstill and cost thousands of jobs at a time when we are trying to re-grow the economy.

SB 120 has passed out of the Senate and is currently being taken up in the House, where it was referred to the Economic Development Committee. The committee can make amendments to the bill. Now is the time to act and call members of the committee as well your own Representative and Senator to urge them to remove the reduction in Historic Tax Credits. Committee member phone numbers can be accessed with the link above. To look up your Representatives phone number click here, and your Senator here.

Please take a few moments to make some phone calls to help prevent this devastating cut to Missouri's most successful tax credit program that has become a model for many other states, including Nebraska which is poised to start a state program this year. Each call only takes about 30 seconds and staffers in each office are keeping count of the number of calls that they get, so each call is important! Tomorrow Downtown St. Louis and T-REx are having a calling party from 4:00 - 6:00 pm at the T-REx offices on the 12th floor of the Railway Exchange Building - 611 Olive Street, above Macy's. Please RSVP on the Facebook event page, which has a much more information.

See below for some talking points.

Here are some talking points to use for your calls to legislators:

• Missouri Historic Tax Credits have produced 43,000 jobs, according to an independent study by St. Louis University —more than any economic development program in the state’s history.


• Historic Tax Credits benefits all Missourians. To date, over 80 communities statewide have taken advantage of the HTC program to revive depressed, both rural and urban.


• Unlike other tax credits, $4 must be invested in an HTC development project for months or years while development is planned and the renovation work progresses. The renovated building must be ready to open and the state must certify the completed project before the before a single dollar of tax credit is issued.


• According to latest figures from the state, Historic Tax Credits generate $1.78 in state personal income taxes, sales taxes, corporate income taxes and miscellaneous revenues for every dollar of tax credits issued.