Advocates For Historic Preservation Tax Credit Decry Proposed Cap

Historic preservation advocates are calling on members of the Joint Finance Committee to remove a proposed cap on tax credits for preserving historic buildings.

In his budget proposal, Gov. Scott Walker called for a $10 million cap on historic preservation tax credits. That’s less than a third of the money used by developers last year, when lawmakers allowed up to 20 percent of building rehabilitation costs to be covered by the tax credits.

President of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance Dawn McCarthy said the proposed budget will deter developers from rehabilitating old buildings.

“For there to be a competitive process for such a low amount of money for projects would mean that a lot of projects might not even get started,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy said the historic preservation tax credits more than pay for themselves and that supporters are lobbying the Joint Finance Committee to remove the $10 million cap from the budget.