Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Ohio Senate Bill 225 Paves the Way for Greater Investment in Opportunity Zones and Historic Districts

Client Alert

Ohio Senate Bill 225 is poised to make dramatic enhancements to certain tax credit programs in Ohio, specifically those surrounding investments in “Opportunity Funds” and historic buildings. Signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in June 2022, the Bill is positive news for real estate developers working to revitalize Ohio communities with investment and rehabilitation projects. 

Features include: 

Tax Credits for Opportunity Zones 

  • Awarded tax credits cannot exceed $75 million for the fiscal biennium beginning July 1, 2021, ending June 30, 2023; $50 million for fiscal year 2024; or $25 million for each fiscal year thereafter. 

  • A critical element of the Bill is that the term “taxpayer” is differentiated from the term “person,” allowing non-taxpaying entities to take advantage of the program as well as Ohio residents and taxpayers who have different qualifications. 

  • The tax credit equals 10-percent of the amount of the person’s investment in the fund that the fund invested during the immediately preceding investment period in Ohio opportunity zones, with a $2 million cap for all applicants.  

  • The investment period is the six-month period from January 1 to June 13, or from July 1 to December 31. 
  • In 2021, there were $10 million in tax credits left over; therefore the increase in funding incentivizes investors to contribute to low-income communities and opportunity zones with a high probability of being awarded credits. 

Tax Credits for the Restoration of Historic Buildings 

  • There is a $120 million limit on rehabilitation tax credits for 2023 and 2024, and $60 million of rehabilitation tax credits for each year thereafter. This allocation is doubled from the current $60 million cap. 

  • Total tax credits for any single project cannot exceed $10 million for any year. 

  • The certificate holder may claim a tax credit equal to 35-percent of the dollar amount indicated on the tax credit certificate if any county, township, or municipal corporation within which the project is located has a population of less than 300,000 according to the 2020 census, and 25-percent otherwise. 
  • For rehabilitations not exceeding 24 months, a rehabilitation tax credit certificate cannot be issued before the rehabilitation is complete. For rehabilitations not exceeding 60 months, a rehabilitation tax credit certificate cannot be issued before a stage of rehabilitation is complete.  

  • This program will be critical for continued investments by developers in low-income areas and will also serve in further expanding Ohioans’ pride through revitalization of Ohio’s most important landmarks. 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Jason Butterworth at jabutterworth@bmdllc.com.


CLIENT ALERT: New Opportunity Zone Incentives Promise to Spur Economic Development

Created as part of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “Opportunity Zones” are designed to encourage long-term investments in underserved communities. By offering tax benefits to private investors who choose to invest their capital at the nexus of need and opportunity, the program supports a broad array of investments and offers opportunity for creative problem-solving strategies to address community needs. The program offers investors tiered tax benefits depending on the term of the investment, including a temporary deferral and partial reduction of unrealized capital gains, as well as the potential to exclude all future appreciation on the investment. The program is designed to tap into the estimated $6T+ of unrealized capital gains held by U.S. individuals and companies by incentivizing investors to re-invest that capital in low-income communities to spur economic development and job creation.

CLIENT ALERT: Medicare Trust Fund to Run Out of Funding Beginning in 2026, Likely to See an Increase in Audits, Overpayment Demands and Extrapolations

Pursuant to a Medicare Trustee Report released on June 5, 2018, the Medicare trust fund will run out of funding beginning in 2026, which is three years earlier than previously expected. Although the Trustee’s report requests that Congress and the President act with urgency to remedy this problem, in the short term, we expect to see an increase in government payer audits, overpayment demands, and extrapolations.

CLIENT ALERT: The European Union's New Data Privacy Law Goes Into Effect

On May 25, 2018, the European Union’s (“the EU”) new data privacy law went into effect. The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) concerns the processing of personal data that can be searched according to specified criteria such as geographical scope.

CLIENT ALERT: Class Action Waivers in Employment Contracts Upheld by Supreme Court

On May 21, 2018, in a 5-4 decision and a major win for employers, the United States Supreme Court upheld the legality of waivers in employment contracts that prohibit employees from grouping claims together in collective or class actions in favor of individual arbitration proceedings. See Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis, ___U.S.___ (2018).

CLIENT ALERT: Prohibition on Recoupment Prior to Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

In April, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Family Rehabilitation, Inc. v. Azar No. 17-11337 (5th Cir. 2018), held that district courts are authorized to enjoin the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and its contractors from recouping alleged overpayments prior to the completion of the administrative appeal process.