Missouri leads nation in historic tax credit money

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri led the nation last year in the amount of money invested to fix up old buildings qualifying for federal historic preservation tax credits, the state Department of Natural Resources said.

The department cited a recent report by the National Park Service, which said developers spent nearly $358 million to rehabilitate Missouri buildings certified for the federal tax credits during the 2004 fiscal year.

That was about $134 million more than in Pennsylvania, which ranked second, and more than twice the $157 million invested by developers in Illinois, which ranked third.

Gov. Matt Blunt said Missouri also led the nation in the number of projects successfully completed last fiscal year.

The National Park Service report highlighted Missouri's separate state tax credit for historic rehabilitation projects, which can be used in conjunction with the federal tax credits.

Rehabilitations using the federal tax credits doubled in Missouri after 1998, which the park service attributes partly to the start up of the state tax credit.

The park service report said it had certified 340 historic projects in Missouri since the 1997 passage of Missouri's tax credit.

The state and federal tax credits are issued at the end of projects.

A state historic preservation office reviews the projects for their compliance with federal standards.

---

On the Net:

Report: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/tax/download/2004report.pdf