Number
250576
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. BAUMAN
Title
Substitute resolution amending the City of Milwaukee’s State Legislative Package to express support for State legislation relating to historic preservation tax credits.
Analysis
This resolution amends the City of Milwaukee’s State Legislative Package to support the modification of historic tax credits in the State of Wisconsin. Specifically, the resolution supports 2025 Assembly Bill 375, which removes federal requirements from projects only using state historic tax credits and removes the requirement that the State Historic Preservation Office recommend a project for federal approval if only state tax credits are being used. In addition, the proposed bill allows taxpayers to claim their entire tax credit for rehabilitation projects in one year, as opposed to 5 and sunsets the state credit for the rehabilitation of qualifying buildings that are not certified historic structures to align with the similar federal credit that was also sunset. Finally, the proposed bill allows a taxpayer to claim $3.5 million in tax credits for a single parcel, every 10 years, instead of only once.
Body
Whereas, The State Legislature is currently considering 2025 Assembly Bill 375, a bill modifying how historic tax credits work in Wisconsin; and
Whereas, The bill allows taxpayers to claim credits for the amounts spent to rehabilitate certified historic structures located in Wisconsin; and
Whereas, In general, a taxpayer may claim both federal and state credits for the same rehabilitation project; however, in some cases, a taxpayer may not be able to claim both credits due to differences in state and federal law; and
Whereas, Under current law, taxpayers may claim a credit equal to 20 percent of their qualified rehabilitation expenditures so long as the expenditures are at least $50,000, while federal law further requires the expenditures exceed the greater of the taxpayer’s adjusted basis in the property or $5,000; and
Whereas, The proposed bill provides that the federal requirement does not apply, while maintaining the $50,000 threshold; and
Whereas, Also under current law, a taxpayer must be certified by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to claim the credit and must provide evidence that the State Historic Preservation Officer approved the rehabilitation before the work began and that the State Historic Preservation Office recommended the rehabilitation for approval to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior; and
Whereas, The proposed bill removes the requirement regarding the State Historic Preservation Office recommendation for federal approval if the taxpayer claims only the state credit and modifies the timing for claiming the credit, allowing for it to be claimed in full over one year, as opposed to over 5; and
Whereas, The bill sunsets the state credit for the rehabilitation of qualifying buildings that are not certified historic structures, which was already sunset at the federal level; and
Whereas, Current law prohibits the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation from certifying persons to claim more than a total of $3,500,000 in tax credits for all projects undertaken on the same parcel; and
Whereas, Under the proposed bill, this restriction only applies to certifying persons to claim tax credits for all projects undertaken on the same parcel within a single 10-year period; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That Common Council Resolution File Number 241415 is amended by inserting the following item in the document attached to the file as “2025-26 State Legislative Package”:
|
Neighborhood Stability and Economic Prosperity |
Common Council |
Seek introduction and passage of State legislation modifying historic rehabilitation tax credits. |
; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall forward copies of this resolution to members of the City of Milwaukee’s delegation to the Wisconsin Legislature.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB180876
Christopher Hillard
7/23/2025