ATLANTA – State Representative Penny Houston (R-Nashville) today announced that House Bill 73 was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on Monday, May 8, 2017. HB 73, authored by Rep. Houston, will create tax credit incentives to promote the revitalization of rural downtowns in Georgia.
“I’m thankful to Governor Deal for signing HB 73 into law and recognizing the importance of this measure for rural Georgia,” said Rep. Houston. “Establishing this tax credit program will provide rural downtown areas with new resources to help revive rural downtowns and create new economic opportunities. These tax credits will encourage business development, stimulate job growth and help existing local businesses, and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts HB 73 will have on communities across the state.”
House Bill 73 provides three types of tax credits in order to promote the revitalization of vacant rural downtowns. The legislation will offer tax credits for business owners within a revitalization zone, rehabilitation projects and investors who acquire and develop property within a revitalization zone. The commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and the commissioner of the Department of Economic Development will work in conjunction to designate vacant rural downtown areas as a revitalization zone and administer the program to the approved areas. Up to 10 revitalization zones can be approved per year with a maximum of 50 revitalization zones in existence at one time. To be eligible for this designation, local governments with fewer than 15,000 residents must: prove economic distress; vacancy of the downtown area or blight; have a concentration of historic commercial structures at least 50 years old in the downtown area; conduct a feasibility study or market analysis identifying businesses which can be supported in the area; and have a master plan designed to assist private and public investment.
Under HB 73, business owners within a revitalization zone who hire two or more new employees can receive an employee tax credit of $2,000 per full-time equivalent employee with the tax credit capped at $40,000 per year for each business owner. Additionally, investors who acquire and develop property within a revitalization zone can receive an investment tax credit for 25 percent of the property’s purchase price, up to $125,000, if the investment results in job creation or receives an employee tax credit. Finally, this bill allows for a rehabilitation tax credit for rehabilitation projects that meet minimum historic preservation standards, which will be determined with assistance of the Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division. This credit is for 30 percent of rehabilitation expenditures, cannot exceed $150,000. A rehabilitation project taking this credit is not eligible to receive any additional state tax credits. The duration of the credits is five years and has a sunset provision of 10 years.
For more information on HB 73, please click here.
Representative Penny Houston represents the citizens of District 170, which includes all of Berrien and Cook counties and portions of Tift County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 1997, and is currently the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development. She also serves on the Banks & Banking, Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight, Economic Development & Tourism, and Ways & Means committees.
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