On April 16th, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a bill increasing the maximum amount of State Historic Credits that a prospective developer can generate from $500,000 to $3.5 million, providing an end to the recent chaos in equity markets that have plagued the state since early 2017. Originally, Wisconsin had an uncapped credit, which led to a tremendous boost of Historic rehabilitation across the state by developers who monetized their tax credits. In mid-2017, the Wisconsin legislature included a cap of $5 million of tax credits per project, which was line-item vetoed by Governor Walker down ten-fold to $500,000. Through a grassroots support movement by the Wisconsin League of Municipalities and Historic Tax Credit professionals, Governor Walker reconsidered the project maximum, and boosted the upper credit limit that developers can earn to $3.5 million, effective July 2018.
The long-term stability in the Wisconsin Historic marketplace projected to begin in July has led to optimism by the Wisconsin development community, as the expected tax credit equity will lead to further growth in Wisconsin Historic Preservation. In the prior years with a stable credit program, Wisconsin issued approximately $172 million in historic tax credits, leading to direct economic output of $832 million during the construction and stabilization phases of project development. This economic growth across Wisconsin communities was halted with the decrease in historic projects in 2017 from the tax credit program uncertainty, so the credit cap increase has provided a useful tool in encouraging further economic growth in 2018 and the years to come.
Clocktower Tax Credits facilitates the tax credit investment process in the Badger State, from small cities like Green Bay to Milwaukee and Madison. Our role in helping developers secure Federal and Wisconsin Tax Credit equity for their projects provides a vital source of funding for Historic developments at top-of-the-market pricing.
For more information, please contact David Curtis at (978) 440-0742 or DCurtis@ClocktowerTC.com.