NEW: RI to Hold Drawing for Historic Tax Credits on Tuesday

NEW: RI to Hold Drawing for Historic Tax Credits on Tuesday

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation will hold a drawing on Tuesday, August 27 to determine how to allocate the state’s available historic tax credits. The department has received applications for more than $54.5 million in tax credits—which is about $20 million more than are available.

Huge demand for tax credits

“In reopening the historic tax credit program, Governor Lincoln Chafee and the General Assembly clearly anticipated that there would be great interest in the program from developers seeking to rehabilitate historic structures in the state,” said Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan. “But until now, we did not know precisely how much interest there’d be. I’m pleased to see that 39 projects throughout the state have applied for the credits so far.”

Aside from certain projects that were grandfathered in, the historic tax credit program has generally been closed since 2008. Some other projects, however, have been “abandoned”—leaving about $34.5 million in credits available but unclaimed as of May 2013.

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The reopened program—which involves “historic preservation tax credits”—is a result of legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Chafee on July 3, 2013. It is intended to encourage the redevelopment and reuse of historic buildings and help spur economic growth.

The drawing will take place on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Conference Room A at the Department of Administration building (the Powers building), One Capitol Hill, Providence, R.I.