Your help is needed to protect an important historic preservation tax credit. As a member of the Historic Resources Committee, the AIA is asking you to  call Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer today to urge them to protect the 10-percent tax credit for rehabilitation of historic buildings. Pending U.S. Senate tax legislation (S. 1637) would repeal the 10-percent credit. We need the help of every Senator to support restoration of the credit before the bill is taken up on the Senate  floor, which could happen within the next week or two. The tax code provides two complementary tax credits to encourage the rehabilitation of historic structures. First, there is a 20-percent credit for the cost of rehabilitating a historical building (i.e., one that is on the National Register of Historic Places). Second, there is a 10-percent credit for the cost of rehabilitating an older building (i.e., one constructed before 1936 that is not a certified historic structure on the National Register).

The AIA strongly opposes repeal of the 10-percent credit and has been working with other organizations, especially the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to oppose the repeal. Advocates of repeal of the 10-percent credit argue that it would eliminate overlapping complexity in the tax code. The facts show that viewpoint is  incorrect. Repeal of the 10-percent credit will not eliminate complexity but would, instead, eliminate a very important incentive for the rehabilitation of older buildings. Many of these buildings are very significant historically, vital to community life and economic development, and the credit contributes greatly to their rehabilitation rather than destruction. As an AIA member with a vital interest in historic preservation, I'd like to ask you to call your two U.S. Senators today expressing your opposition to the repeal of the 10-percent-tax-credit for the cost of rehabilitating buildings.

You can call Senator Dianne Feinstein at (202) 224-3841 and Senator Barbara Boxer at (202) 224-3553, please let me know who you spoke to by replying to this e-mail.

Thanks very much,