Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC, is a national broker of State and Federal Tax Credit incentives.  We service the Real Estate, Renewable Energy, and Film/Digital Media industries, as well as the more general area of Economic Development incentives.  These programs are designed to provide necessary financing to fill the money gap to complete necessary, important, and exciting projects nationwide.  The great news is that these programs are expanding, turning more of these projects into realities.

An analysis by Novogradac & Company LLP (January 2, 2024) identified four states that created new tax incentives for Affordable Housing in 2023, as well as two states that legislated new Historic Building Rehabilitation tax credits.  By year’s end, the study totaled 30 states that provided state-level tax credit subsidies for affordable housing, 38 states that offered Historic tax credits, and 13 states where New Market Tax Credits were offered.  Only eight states offered no tax credit incentives to developers of such projects.  Research shows that many more development projects are completed in states that offer such tax incentives than in those states lacking such programs.

In the domestic Film/Digital Media industry, there are now 38 states that offer financial incentives to film and produce movies, television, websites and other digital media within their borders.  While some programs have been trimmed, more states have created or increased incentive programs, with either transferable or refundable tax credits.  With the writers’ and actors’ strikes over and post-pandemic production activity surging, these financial incentives are the key to turning so many locations across the country into “Little Hollywoods”.

Finally, in the Renewable Energy industry, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has created all the incentive necessary to spur hundreds of billions of dollars of new projects and products.  The amount of tax credit issued to a project has leaped from about 22% of project cost to 30%, 40%, and even up to 60% in certain cases.  And most importantly, the creation of a transferable tax credit, which no longer requires investors to enter into complex, multi-year partnerships in order to save on their taxes, will attract perhaps $100 billion in investment in 2024.  State incentives are not needed here!

So 2024 portends to be a very exciting year for developers, producers, and investors in tax credit projects, with so many state governments joining with the Federal Treasury to stimulate the private activity in Real Estate, Film, and Renewable Energy.  Clocktower Tax Credits helps put these projects together.  To schedule a meeting with any Clocktower associate, or a phone call or Zoom session, please call President Jeff Jacobson at (978) 823-0200, or email him at JJacobson@ClocktowerTC.com.

Congratulations are due for Mercy Housing Lakefront for their development of the Carlton Terrace Apartments in Chicago.  The project received mention in the 2023 Novogradac Historic Rehabilitation Awards as a historic tax credit development that best exemplifies major community impact.  The rehabilitation comprised the adaptive reuse of the former Carlton Terrace Hotel, which had been vacant and was transformed by Mercy into 68 units of permanent supportive housing.  The project now is a valuable resource for those who need it most in the North Side neighborhood of Uptown.

This continues Mercy’s success preserving historic building stock for affordable housing across Chicago. Mercy was also the recipient of a Novogradac Historic Tax Credit award in 2022 for its Major Jenkins Apartments, the rehabilitation of two adjacent buildings into 156 units of housing for survivors of homelessness, also in the Uptown neighborhood.  Clocktower sourced the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit equity for both projects, providing crucial funding to support the construction process.  We congratulate the entire Mercy Housing Lakefront team for creating impactful developments without compromising the historic character of the buildings!

Clocktower is ready to help all Illinois developers looking to preserve historic building stock while creating affordable housing in the space, using both Low-Income Housing and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits to provide much-needed funding sources.  If there are any questions or similar projects seeking a tax credit equity source or a path for tax credit eligibility, please reach out to David Curtis at (978) 440-0742, or email him at DCurtis@ClocktowerTC.com. 

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike has come to an end, bringing relief to the entertainment industry as a whole, and hope that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) will soon reach a similar resolution. The concurrent strikes have not only placed a number of television shows and film productions on hold but have also led to the cancellation of some projects, resulting in substantial disruptions throughout the industry. This has had a profound impact on individuals whose livelihoods depend on production work, with some of them spending the last five months picketing outside of major studios. The conclusion of these negotiations and the reaching of a mutually beneficial deal represents a significant milestone in the ongoing conversation surrounding workers’ rights within the industry.

With the shift in entertainment towards streaming platforms and with the lack of information around artificial intelligence (AI), the WGA sought to safeguard and further the rights of writers. Some of these concerns were around compensation, including residuals and streaming royalties. Other concerns included minimum staffing for writers’ rooms and the threat of AI generated material. With this resolution, there is an acknowledgement that writers are the backbone of any story, they are responsible for all the shows and films that captivate audiences worldwide, and these stories cannot be artificially generated.

The entertainment world celebrates the conclusion of the WGA strike and looks forward to a potential resolution of the SAG strike. With a more equitable contract in place, writers and studios can resume work on beloved shows and bring fresh ideas to the big screen. This resolution not only establishes a precedent for future negotiations but also reinforces the indispensable role that writers play in the filmmaking process.

Clocktower Tax Credits is thrilled for both the writers and the broader entertainment industry on this resolution. Our network of buyers is eager to acquire tax credits generated from the expected surge in productions as people return to work. If you are working on a production and are interested in selling its tax credit, don’t hesitate to call us. Clocktower works with producers/filmmakers all across the country and we’d love to work with you as well. For inquiries, please contact Haley Ricker at (978) 793-6694 or HRicker@ClockTowerTC.com.

Jeff Jacobson, President of Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC, is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Associate in the Film and Digital Media sector of its tax credit brokerage practice.  We welcome Haley Ricker of Los Angeles, CA to the firm, effective July 2023.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new Acquisitions Associate,” Jeff noted.  “With a background in the film industry, Haley will bring fresh and creative ideas to our tax credit financing opportunities.”

Haley joins Clocktower with experience in both the entertainment industry and legal field.  Most recently, she was employed at a feature film sales, finance, and production company based in Los Angeles.  During her time there, she actively contributed to numerous productions, taking part in various stages from initial development to final delivery.  With this background, she is well-equipped in the pursuit of tax credit opportunities and evaluating potential financial investments.

Clocktower continues to be one of the nation’s premier brokers of both State and Federal Tax Credits, serving industries including Real Estate, Renewable Energy, Film and Digital Media, and Economic Development.  With over 1000 successful transactions behind us, we maintain a track record and reputation that is second to none.  Clocktower has raised over $500 million in tax equity from our Bank, Insurance, and Corporate investors.

Haley is the contact point for Producers looking to finance and sell their production tax credits; she can be reached at (978) 793-6694 and HRicker@ClockTowerTC.com.  To schedule a meeting with any Clocktower associate, or a phone call or Zoom session, please call President Jeff Jacobson at (978) 823-0200 or email him at JJacobson@ClocktowerTC.com.

Thanks to some incredible lobbying efforts, the Florida Voluntary Cleanup Tax Credit (VCTC) Program is increasing its award allocation from $10 million a year, all the way up to $35 million a year.  And the allocation will remain at that amount for at least the next 5 years.  To put that into perspective, Florida enacted the VCTC program in 1998 and the program had a $2 million annual allocation, more than enough to support the handful of applications for this incentive to remediate pollution at contaminated properties.  Today, the FL Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is processing over 125 applications each year, due to the increased funding the program has received.

Clocktower Tax Credits has been involved with this program since its inception and transferred the first VCTC certificates in the state!  To date, Clocktower has brokered the sale of over 40% of all VCTCs sold, and for good reason.  We get the job done!  Tax credit awards vary greatly in size, ranging from a few thousand dollars up to the program cap of $500,000, not including bonus awards.  Clocktower has an established track record of placing all credit sizes and helping sellers get the most for their tax credits.

The FL DEP is currently working to clear out a backlog of applications which occurred when the program was funded at $10 million annually.  For the last few years, sellers had to wait a year or more to get their credit certificates, with an annual July cycle when the next fiscal year funding occurred.  But with $35 million now available, the DEP will begin processing the certificates on a rolling basis.  This places tax credit certificates in the hands of sellers that much faster, and working with an experienced tax credit broker in Clocktower means having the cash proceeds from the sale just as quickly.

Give us a call today and let’s discuss your tax credits. Dave Auster, Senior Associate, can be reached at (978) 793-6600, or by email at DAuster@ClocktowerTC.com.