A new state tax credit is a reasonable way to help owners who want to preserve and restore their historical homes.
Historic preservationists have reason to cheer over a new tax credit that may bring more historic homes back to life.
A story in Thursday's Journal-World focused on a Lawrence couple who is taking advantage of the provision passed by the 2001 Kansas Legislature to make major improvements to their Old West Lawrence home. The law will allow Lynn and Sally Piller to get a state income tax credit worth 25 percent of the cost of work they plan to do to their home at 711 Ind.
The project is an ambitious one: rebuilding a huge porch that originally wrapped around the front and one side of the house. Although the Pillers declined to say how much the project would cost, anyone who has contracted for home improvements or even done the work themselves knows that the expense will be considerable.
The Kansas State Historical Society employee who is coordinating the tax credit program said the Pillers' house is the first application to be approved in Lawrence. The state has had a total of nine or 10 applications so far.
Federal tax credits that already existed apply only to income-producing property, which didn't include most private homes. The new state tax credit applies only to state income taxes, so the savings might not be enough incentive for some people to undertake renovations. But it could be enough to tip the balance for people considering a major project.
People in Lawrence and other cities with wonderful historic homes are eager to preserve that part of their heritage. The beautiful homes in the older sections of Lawrence require constant maintenance and the people who dedicate themselves to restoring and caring for those homes make a real contribution to the city's history and ambiance.
But it's not easy or inexpensive. The new tax credit is a reasonable way to try to encourage individual Kansans to help preserve an important part of state and local history. It's great to see the owners of one century-old Lawrence home taking advantage of the new provision. Hopefully other local residents will be able to made similar use of the new tax credit.
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