In Chicago and other cities that depend on the glow of restored historic buildings to lure tourists and create jobs, there were mixed emotions over the $1.5 trillion tax package that Congress approved Wednesday — relief that legislators did not kill a major economic incentive for preservation, but uncertainty over the incentive’s future impact because it’s been weakened.
The existence of the decades-old incentive, the federal historic preservation tax credit, was thrown into doubt last month when the House voted to abolish it. The final bill keeps the credit, but instead of allowing developers to reap its full 20 percent benefit when a restored building opens, as they can now, the credit will be parceled out over five years.
Read more about the historic preservation tax credit at the Chicago Tribune.
