Section 1603 Safe Harbor Webinar

Satisfying Treasury’s criteria for demonstrating that construction has commenced under the 5 percent Safe Harbor rules

Thursday, September 22, 2011
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT (10:00 AM to 11:30 AM PDT)

Instructors

	Tony Grappone, CPA Partner – Boston Novogradac & Company LLP			John Marciano, III Associate Chadbourne & Parke LLP
	Forrest David Milder Partner Nixon Peabody LLP			Stephen Tracy, CPA Partner – San Francisco Novogradac & Company LLP

Webinar Description

This webinar will provide attendees with an overview of the rules for how renewable energy projects can demonstrate that construction has commenced by December 31, 2011 in order to qualify for Treasury's Section 1603 grant program and will cover a variety of hypothetical project development scenarios.  Our expert panelists will discuss the benefits of different safe harbor strategies and offer guidance on what pitfalls might prevent a project from meeting the requirements.  Featured discussions are expected to include:

• Identifying the types of costs that are eligible and best suited to meeting the safe harbor requirements
• Determining when to make a payment for project costs and understanding what constitutes a nonrefundable payment
• Learning when a property needs to be “received” or when services need to be “provided”
• Knowing what it means to have title to a property and the documentation that is needed
• Understanding what constitutes a binding written contract
• Learning the types of fees that are eligible and understanding the risks of relying on such fees, as well as exploring strategies to document the services provided
• Gaining an awareness of the consequences if the “5 percent safe harbor assets” are not used in the final completed project
• Meeting the safe harbor requirements for specific projects that may not be identified
• Understanding how the Section 1603 application process works for projects that are not completed by December 31, 2011

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Terms and Conditions

Except as explicitly stated in the program materials (if applicable), the webinar will not qualify attendees for any type of continuing education credit or certification issued by any organization.

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Novogradac & Company LLP webinars are presented as general learning opportunities and are not a substitute for professional advice. You agree not to make business or financial decisions based solely on the webinar materials and you agree that we are not responsible for business or tax decisions made by webinar attendees based on the information provided by the instructors during the webinar. Each tax credit property has specific issues and circumstances associated with that property. Webinar attendees are strongly encouraged to consult their legal and/or tax advisors for advice specific to the attendee's specific circumstances.

About the Instructors

Tony Grappone is a partner in the Boston, Mass. office of Novogradac & Company LLP where he provides accounting and tax services to developers, syndicators and investors of real estate as well as other tax credit investments. Prior to joining Novogradac & Company LLP, Mr. Grappone worked at Ernst & Young LLP specializing in partnership taxation within the affordable housing industry, servicing many of the nation’s largest tax credit syndicators and investors. In addition, he served several leading venture capital firms as well as commercial real estate developers and investors. Mr. Grappone serves as a member on the Northeastern University Undergraduate Accounting Group Advisory Board, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and seminars on topics related to renewable energy, is a technical editor of Novogradac & Company’s Renewable Energy Tax Credit Handbook and contributes regularly to the renewable energy tax credit content of the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits. He received a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. and is licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as a certified public accountant.

John Marciano is a transactional lawyer. His practice focuses on federal income tax law, with a particular emphasis on energy tax credits, asset based financing, renewable energy investments, and project finance, both in the United States and abroad. Mr. Marciano's client representations range from nonprofit organizations and governmental entities to Fortune 500 companies.

Forrest Milder is a partner in the Boston, Mass. office of Nixon Peabody LLP. He has more than 25 years experience in the tax aspects of project finance, including housing, historic rehabilitations, energy and new markets, as well as many other tax-related fields, including partnerships and LLCs; tax-exempt organizations; business formation, operation and disposition; executive compensation; and tax-exempt bonds and other structured financial products. He regularly addresses the tax consequences and provides tax opinions with respect to tax-advantaged investments by leading institutional syndicators and investors. Mr. Milder received his bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) and master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a master’s in taxation from Boston University School of Law. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles on tax credits and other tax matters, as well as the BNA treatise, “Rehabilitation Tax Credit and Low Income Housing Tax Credit.” His comments on recent and proposed tax legislation have appeared many times on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (in the weekly A Tax Report column), as well as in The Boston Globe, Banker & Tradesman, The Boston Business Journal, Mass High Tech, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Mr. Milder is a member of the board of governors of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, and he runs the forum’s listserv on which approximately 700 participants discuss issues relevant to affordable housing and community development. He was a lecturer in law at Boston University Law School from 1990 to 1995, and a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School in 2002. He is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in American Law and in Boston Magazine’s Massachusetts Super Lawyers.

Stephen Tracy is a tax partner in the San Francisco, Calif. office of Novogradac & Company LLP. As the practice leader of the firm’s renewable energy practice, he has significant experience working directly with system integrators, independent power producers and developers of solar, wind, biogas, geothermal, ethanol and other renewable energy projects. Mr. Tracy also has significant experience representing institutional investors and developers by assisting in structuring tax equity financings for renewable energy projects that monetize the subsidies from existing federal and state programs that promote renewable energy development; in particular, the investment tax credit, the Section 1603 Treasury Grant program, the production tax credit, and the new markets tax credit along with a host of state and local programs (e.g. rebate programs, production based incentives, feed-in-tariffs, SRECs etc.). He is a co-author of the firm’s Renewable Energy Tax Credit Handbook, has written many articles on affordable housing and real estate related topics, and is a frequent speaker at various renewable energy industry and affordable housing events. He also serves as chairman of Novogradac & Company’s two annual renewable energy conferences. In real estate matters his primary emphasis is in the taxation and syndication of affordable housing investments. In this role he represents real estate developers, syndicators and institutional investors involved in the development, investment and management of affordable housing assets. Prior to joining Novogradac & Company LLP, Mr. Tracy worked at Arthur Andersen in San Francisco, where he served a variety of clients generally concentrated in the real estate, securities and venture capital industries. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and real estate from San Francisco State University. He is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.