BOMA supports bill offering energy saving incentives to property owners.

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International applauded the introduction of a new bill in the House and Senate yesterday (S. 822, House number not available yet) which, if passed, would extend and expand the energy efficient tax incentives for building owners and managers provided in the 2005 Energy Act.

The EXTEND the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Act ("EXTEND") was introduced on March 8, 2007, in both the House and the Senate.

This legislation extends the Act until the end of 2012 and increases the deduction to $2.25/sf, or $0.75/sf for partial credit for each of the three subsystems of the building (lighting; HVAC and hot water; and building envelope).

The current law allows building owners and managers to receive an accelerated deduction of up to $1.80/sf for energy efficient upgrades that exceed ASHRAE 90.1 (2001) by 50 percent. Partial credit of up to $0.60/ sf is available for energy efficiency upgrades to each of the three main subsystems of the building that exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 16 2/3 percent (1/3 of 50%). The incentives apply to energy efficient upgrades placed in service between 1/1/06 and 12/31/08.

"The introduction of the extension bill is great news because it creates a realistic timeframe for building owners and managers to make the investments to comply with the ambitious requirements for the incentives," said BOMA International Chairman and Chief Elected Officer Kurt R. Padavano, RPA, CPM, FMA, SMA, and Chief Operating Officer of Advance Realty Group of Bedminster, NJ. "Tax incentives like these are crucial because they help building owners make the financial case to implement energy efficiency upgrades."