Novogradac & Company LLP hosted their annual Historic Tax Credit (HTC) conference in Denver, CO from September 27-29 where NTCIC was featured as the event WiFi sponsor. The Conference brought over 350 attendees together to network and discuss ways on how to support the HTC at the local, regional and national levels. Over the course of three days, NTCIC was heavily engaged in raising awareness and increasing the sense of urgency to support the HTC.
Image by Novogradac & Company
Merrill Hoopengardner, President, was one of four female executives who hosted the Women in Tax Credits breakfast.This inaugural event brought over 50 attendees together to engage in an interactive discussion around how to create a distinguished career path and establish successful business relationships.
Merrill was also one of three panelists on the HTC in Washington Panel, the conference’s most-attended session.She contributed her insights on the status of comprehensive tax reform, the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2017 and ways in which advocates are called to act in support of the HTC.
Learn more on why the tax credit industry is on high alert from Merrill’s exclusive interview at the conference:
John Leith-Tetrault, Public Policy Advisor, led a standing-room-only Historic Tax Credit Coalition (HTCC) Monthly Meeting where the main agenda item was to discuss the recently released unified framework for tax reform. During the Conference, HTCC members and Conference attendees were urged to vocalize their support for the HTC to their Congressional members by emailing them at the HTCC booth. In total, over 83 advocates sent emails to 54 senators and Congressional members. Learn more on how to help the HTC from John’s exclusive interview at the conference:
Image by Novogradac & Company
Key Conclusions
Without a federal historic tax credit, the historic fabric of our urban centers, Main Street commercial districts, and small towns nationwide face a much greater risk of economic obsolescence and not being revitalized. The need for tax reform is clear, but it must not come at the expense of this important economic redevelopment incentive that more than pays for itself and has a proven track record of creating jobs, saving historic buildings, and revitalizing neighborhoods.
Call-to-Action
All HTC advocates are urged to vocalize support to Congressional Leadership, House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees with the message that the HTC is important to the economic redevelopment efforts in your state and district. Please do the following immediately:
- Contact House and Senate Members of Congress ASAP- Call during office hours of your Members of Congress.
- Ask to speak to tax staff, your staff contacts in offices or ask for email addresses of tax staff.
A suggested outline of your message:
1. Introduce yourself
2. Say “I have been hearing about tax reform and I wanted to check in to see how the HTC is fairing. I am extremely concerned that is was not specifically mentioned in the tax reform framework.”
3. Explain why you value HTC, and that the redevelopment of historic buildings will not get done without it.
4. Let them know some previous and potential future HTC projects in your state/district (Links to State HTC Map and Project List in advocacy resources below)
5. Explain why these buildings are so challenging
6. Ask…. “As tax reform moves forward, will Rep./Sen. XXX vocalize support and work to protect the Historic Tax Credit with Congressional Leadership and the tax-writing committees?”
Please share responses from congressional offices with Michael Phillips at mphillips@ntcic.com.
Advocacy Resources
• Find contact information for your House Representative
• Find contact information for your Senators
• Talking points
• Bill summary, House Co-Sponsors, and Senate Co-sponsors
• State and congressional district maps with economic impact data
• Interactive mapping tool developed by Novogradac and Company