It is SGR’s goal to ensure our clients stay ahead of the curve in all areas of business within this rapidly changing environment.

Recently, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was signed into law, which expands the availability of tax incentives for sustainable business activities.

For example, the Act provides numerous extensions and modifications for existing green tax incentives, including the renewable energy production tax credit and extending and modifying credits available to energy-efficient green building and sustainable design projects. The Act also provides new incentives for certain other activities, such as providing credits for carbon sequestration, fringe benefits for bicycle commuters, and first-year bonus depreciation for investments in recycling.

Georgia’s General Assembly also recently enacted legislation providing income tax credits for investment in certain clean energy property and the delivery of wood residuals to certain renewable biomass facilities. Businesses should investigate the available state credits, which the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the Georgia Department of Revenue report are going largely unused. (For example, only $87,713 of the available $2.5 million under Georgia’s “Clean Energy Property Tax Credit” had been approved as of late October.)

SGR’s Sustainability Practice Group is prepared to help our clients evaluate these federal and state tax incentives and apply for applicable benefits.

If you have any questions or would like additional, specific information regarding these tax incentives, please contact your Smith, Gambrell & Russell attorney, or an attorney in the Sustainability Practice Group.