As the GOP undertakes comprehensive tax reform, it should restore the Federal Historic Tax Credit, a program that preserves America’s irreplaceable historic buildings, generates jobs and more than pays for itself.
It simply makes no sense to jettison an incentive that, since its inception in 1976, has generated more than $29.9 billion in federal tax revenue. This is a return of $1.20 on each dollar in tax credits awarded, according to data collected by the Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research.
In fact, the federal program works so well that Ohio pairs it with its own historic tax credits, which provide a return of $6.20 in taxes generated for every dollar the state forgoes through its tax credit.