A GOP bill would implement changes to Wisconsin’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, WisBusiness reports. Its authors say the changes will ensure the program remains “an important, useful resource.”
Property owners can use the tax credits — along with similar ones at the federal level — to offset the cost of rehabilitating qualifying historic properties. Wisconsin’s tax credit only applies to income-producing properties like hotels, housing developments and other businesses.
Recipients of the state’s tax credit can claim up to 20% of the qualified rehabilitation cost, provided those expenditures exceed $50,000 and are “at least the greater” of the property’s adjusted basis value or $5,000.
The new bill would cut the adjusted basis value provision while keeping the former requirement. It would also change an existing per-parcel cap of $3.5 million in credits so that it would apply to 10-year periods moving forward, rather than in perpetuity over rehabilitation projects at the site.
The bill would also simplify the certification process for properties whose owners are claiming only the state-level tax credit.
