Do Historic-Home Tax Credits Create New Jobs?

Historic tax credits are the hot topic in Missouri where Gov. Jay Nixon is pushing to shrink the state's program in the waning days before the state legislature adjourns.

Missouri 's program is the country's largest, but the state's offer to assist developers rehabbing historic properties cost the state $186 million last year, more than double the second largest program in Virginia . (Developers used historic tax credits to renovate Richmond's Carpenter Center.) The Missouri Business Journal reports that the latest figures "for the tax credit caps circulating Jefferson City include $75 million a year for historic tax credits, half of the current $140 million cap."

While the Show Me State works to cap the amount they dole out in credits, other states are rolling out new and revamped programs and touting them as the cause du jour: a job engine, of course.