December 2017 marked an important milestone for the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) as John Leith-Tetrault, NTCIC’s founder, former President, current Public Policy Advisor, and chair of the Historic Tax Credit Coalition (HTCC), officially retired.
John started his career with the National Trust family in the mid-1990s as Director of the Community Partners program at the National Trust, which was the predecessor business line to NTCIC. He was the founding president of NTCIC when it became a subsidiary of the Trust in 2000 and served in that capacity until 2016. Anticipating that the company’s public policy needs might continue to dominate NTCIC’s time commitments, John graciously agreed to delay his well-deserved retirement and stay on as Public Policy Advisor, while continuing to chair the industry’s HTCC over the course of the last two years.
John has had a tremendous impact not only on NTCIC but on the broader tax credit community. During his years as President, he built NTCIC into a diversified tax credit syndication firm with expertise in historic, new markets and solar investments. John pioneered the concept of twinning historic and new markets tax credits and has been an unceasing champion of the role of historic preservation in the revitalization of low-income communities.
John has led the HTCC through some dramatic changes in the industry over the last several years. He steps down on a high note after a successful effort to retain the historic tax credit (HTC) in a reformed tax code. In prior years, the HTCC also worked closely with the IRS to develop Revenue Procedure 2014-12 that governs how HTC transactions are structured to comply with the Historic Boardwalk Hall, LLC v. Commissioner appeals court decision.
In a departing email to members of the HTCC, John shared the following:
Over the years, through the introduction of a series of HTC improvement bills, we slowly built awareness of the HTC on Capitol Hill. When the Republicans took over both houses and Mr. Trump won the 2016 election, there was speculation that, of the three community development credits, the HTC was most likely to be eliminated. We converted the HTCC from a group most known for its regulatory and administrative victories, into a lobbying force that pulled off a miracle recovery in the Senate after the House zeroed out the HTC in its tax reform bill.
We should remind ourselves that in addition to its economic impact on communities that need it the most, our work also helps assure that our children and grandchildren will enjoy the beauty of America’s architectural heritage. I urge you to keep fighting for that cause.
Please join NTCIC in celebrating the successful vision and legacy of historic preservation leader, John Leith-Tetrault.
To learn more about the HTCC and how to become a member, visit their website at http://historiccredit.com/.