Verity Works Statement on Georgia State Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Verity Works is disappointed by Governor Kemp’s decision to veto House Bill 376, which refunded the existing Georgia Rehabilitation Tax Credit. We regularly see the impact historic tax credit projects have on local Georgia communities, and we were excited to see this program expanded and improved to continue helping Georgia communities. 

We believe in Governor Kemp’s haste to reduce the state budget, he overlooked the decades of research that has shown historic tax credits are always a net positive investment for state and federal governments based on the job creation, property value increases, and long-term revitalization of historic buildings. 

We have seen firsthand the economic impacts of historic tax credits. In the state fiscal year of 2025 alone, 64 historic rehab projects were approved with a total project cost of $217,235,879 (source: Georgia RHTC SFY 2025 End of Year Report). For many of our partners, it allows them to maintain lower and more competitive rental rates which has empowered many small businesses and nonprofits to maintain a brick and mortar space. This also applies for many multifamily historic rehabilitations. While HTCs can be paired with LIHTC deals to further reduce rental rates, HTCs alone can help maintain more affordable rental rates in multifamily projects. Housing affordability cannot and should not be solved by LIHTC projects alone, and HTCs have been a vital resource in helping generate new market rate and affordable housing.  

Finally, Verity Works was especially excited to see the increase in credit percentage for rural projects. Both of our founders have previous experience outside of historic preservation working in the rural South, and we understand the additional difficulties in economic development in smaller communities. Rural Georgia should be able to see the advantages of historic preservation in the same way its urban counterparts do. The increase in HTC percentage would have helped rural projects reduce the additional economic burden of revitalization in rural communities. 

We are committed to working with other preservation partners across the state to increase the Georgia Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Please reach out to chris@verityworksco.com if you would like to discuss how you can help. 

Publications demonstrating the value of HTCs: 

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/03-04-2026-fy-24-htc-report-fy-25-annual-report.htm

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/upload/report-2024-economic-impact.pdf