By: Lori T. Williams, Esq.
Arthur Siegal is an environmental attorney with Jaffe’sSouthfield law office. He is passionate about urban redevelopment and has a personal and professional interest in Brownfield Redevelopment Legislation, which he helped draft. I asked him about his perspective on the Brownfield tax credits, which are currently under scrutiny and could possibly be eliminated if Governor Snyder does not revise his budget proposal.
Siegal commented, “The issue is still up in the air. While Governor Snyder wants to eliminate the tax credits, there is strong opposition against doing so. I anticipate that some incentive like the tax credits will remain, but with some reform.” Siegal believes that the credits should remain because the benefits they provide are in line with many of the Governor’s priorities. For more background on the Brownfield tax credit debate, read Siegal’s prior blogs: Brownfield incentives: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and Brownfield credits a cause worth fighting for.
According to Siegal, the Brownfield Tax Credits are beneficial because they enable the following:
1) The cleanup of obsolete properties, which would otherwise remain deserted and/or contaminated;
2) The financing of worthwhile projects that wouldn’t otherwise get financing for various reasons (ie. The Westin Book Cadillac Hotel is a prime example);
Book Cadillac-before credits
Book Cadillac-after credits
3) The creation of jobs through the redevelopment projects;
4) Sustainability, both from an environmental and an economic standpoint. Environmentally speaking, brownfield redevelopment reuses existing infrastructure and avoids a consumption of green spaces. Economically speaking, it provides sustainability for our local economy because the project stays in Michigan, the jobs stay in Michigan, and the building remains in Michigan. This is in contrast to the film incentives which provides a temporary cash infusion into the economy, but then the actors and production team leave the area after the film project is complete and the State of Michigan must write a rebate check back to them for a portion of the moneys spent while in Michigan.
5) The revitalization of Detroit.
Siegal states, “as it stands now, the credits can be sold privately, or to the State, or they can be used to offset tax liability of the developer. Procedures could developed to better measure the economic benefits that the credit receiving project generates, before they are categorically cut.”
Siegal is currently a member of The Collaborative Group, which is an organization committed to the revitalization of Detroit and the greater region. One of The Collaborative Group’s initiatives is Challenge Detroit, which promotes job creation and attracts the best and the brightest youth back to our communities. This recent article in Crains, highlights the progress of Challenge Detroit. Arthur is also a past chair of the Environmental Quality Committee of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and has worked on legislative issues and environmental liability and closure legislation.
Professionally speaking, Siegal represents real estate development companies, and suppliers and industrial companies that services the automotive industry. He represents clients involved in real estate transactions, environmental litigation, green energy, energy efficiency, and regulatory issues. You can read more about Siegal’s passion for all things environmental in his Blog called Michigan Green Law.
This is definitely something that should not be done without law
advice. There are a lot of things that need to be considered. It
seems like as Michigan is declining the number of
Brownfield Tax Attorneys continue growing.