Joined by more than 100 organizations and companies, the AIA is urging lawmakers to take action on a critical tax deduction which is set to expire at the end of the year.
The Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction – known better simply as “179D” for its section in the U.S. tax code – was renewed by Congress in 2015 but only until December 2016.
The 179D incentive provides a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot for the design and installation of qualified energy efficient building systems in new buildings or in the renovation of existing buildings. The design-based deduction has leveraged billions of dollars in private capital, in turn leading to the energy-efficient construction or renovation of thousands of buildings across the country, and creating or preserving hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process.
Last Friday this group released a letter asking members of Congress to find a long-term solution for the 179D deduction, rather than waiting for the December deadline to arrive. The coalition is made up of a diverse group of stakeholders and includes representatives from the design, real estate, manufacturing, contracting, engineering, financing, labor, and education industries.
Click here to read the full text of the letter, and be sure to check out this op-ed piece for more background.
-
Alex Ford, Manager, Federal Relations