Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the Tourism Development Tax Credit (TDTC) program are relatively new pathways to improving the viability of major development projects in West Virginia. These tools, created by the West Virginia Legislature, use property and sales taxes to help developers focus on new investment and community development and renewal.

The Bowles Rice “TIF Team” comprises lawyers and strategists who were on the forefront of drafting the original legislation and several of its revisions. Team members have certified districts and determined appropriate bonding levels, determined pre-program tax production and helped direct efforts to prepare bond proposals for the marketplace. We know what a plan should look like and what elements are important for approval. We know the decision makers who will pass judgment. And, working with our firm’s Government Relations Team, we can prepare legislation and lobby for its passage, when necessary, to implement a sales tax increment plan.

A TIF strategy, when properly developed and applied, can help attract new private development and retain existing business within a community. It is designed to utilize the growth in taxes created by new business activity to finance critical improvements within an approved district. The designation of a TIF district within a municipality or county can encourage growth, jobs and private and public investments that improve property tax values and, in turn, ultimately grow revenue.

TIF comes in three forms. Most commonly, it uses the growth in property taxes generated by new development to finance infrastructure enhancements inside the district. Less frequently used, but still a powerful tool, is a Sales Tax Increment Financing (STIF) plan, which uses new sales taxes generated within a STIF district to finance infrastructure and other improvement. The third option is the Tourism Development Tax Credit (TDTC) program, specifically geared toward tourism projects. It does not require the creation of a district, but can be more project-focused.

The Bowles Rice TIF Team has the capability to provide exceptional planning, aggressive engagement between public and private participants, and thoughtful strategies that are right for your project, and we will work with you to develop a blueprint to move forward appropriately. We can assist you through the complicated process of planning, review and implementation of a TIF, STIF or TDTC. The members of our team have the knowledge, vast experience and capabilities to help you all along the way:

Marc A. Monteleone’s practice includes federal and state taxation, mergers and acquisitions, construction and commercial law and real estate development. He also has extensive experience in construction law, and is the author of the West Virginia Design-Build legislation, which authorizes the use of design-build services in the state, and serves as chairman of the West Virginia Design-Build Board. In 2022, Marc was elected Managing Partner of Bowles Rice.

Roger D. Hunter has worked extensively in matters involving the capital markets including large financings and bond issues. From 2011 to 2014, he served as General Counsel to The Greenbrier, James C. Justice Companies, Inc., and many of its affiliates. Currently, Roger is a member of the Board of Trustees for the West Virginia Investment Management Board.

Floyd McKinley “Kin” Sayre focuses some of his practice in the areas of tax, commercial and finance law, as well as small business development, but he has made a real mark in his work with municipalities. Lisa Dooley, executive director of the West Virginia Municipal League, is quoted on the U.S. News & World Report’s and Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” website as saying, “Kin’s understanding of local government operations makes him a resource we choose not to be without.”

Thomas A. Heywood served as the firm's Managing Partner from 2008 to 2021. A former Chief of Staff to former Governor Gaston Caperton, Tom has significant experience in banking and corporate/commercial law and is frequently called upon by clients and community leaders for business advice on a wide variety of transactional matters. An experienced facilitator, he regularly assists businesses and organizations in the strategic planning process. Tom is widely known as a “go-to” person within state government, but has extensive experience in working with government officials at the local and federal level as well. His service and leadership on boards of charitable and non-profit organizations, as well as business and economic development groups, is extensive and wide-ranging.

Camden P. Siegrist concentrates his practice on municipal bonds and related governmental financings, securities and commercial transactions.  A practicing attorney since 1984, he also is a Certified Public Accountant.

Thompson R. Pearcy focuses on commercial and financial law. Tom has negotiated and drafted transaction documents, represented lenders and borrowers in commercial loan transactions and served as bond counsel in public financing.

Former Bowles Rice partner Bob Kiss (1957-2021), who served as Finance Chairman and Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, was instrumental in the original drafting and implementation of the TIF law. In fact, he literally wrote the book on the law shortly after leaving the Legislature when he authored the comprehensive guidebook on TIFs in West Virginia. From 2013 to 2016, Bob served as Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Revenue, where he oversaw 10 state agencies, including the State Tax Division. The Tax Division is charged with certifying each TIF and STIF district’s beginning tax yield, an essential step in creating TIF/STIF districts.