Baker Botts has represented clients in many of the largest capital-intensive projects throughout the United States and world—including extensive experience advising clients on numerous types of state, local, and federal economic development incentives intended to encourage these projects.
Our state and local tax group advises on and negotiates some of the largest economic development tax incentive agreements with state and local taxing units in U.S. history. This extensive experience enables us to advise on all types of state and local incentives around the country, including tax abatement, value limitation, or PILOT agreements; economic grants; non-annexation agreements; tax-increment financing; discounted land leases; municipal utility agreements; tax credits; sales and use tax exemptions and rebates; and other types of public-private partnerships intended to encourage local investment. Our lawyers work with clients to structure a proposed project, identify potential incentives, and develop a strategy for approaching state and local officials and negotiating optimal incentive packages, all in the context of a client’s overall strategy for the project.
Baker Botts’ lawyers regularly advise clients on how to structure developments (or acquisitions of the same) to take advantage of federal opportunity zone investments, federal production tax credits, Treasury grants and loans, and investment tax credits (e.g., clean energy and proposed CHIPS Act credits)—as well as other climate and clean energy initiatives, such as section 45Q federal tax credits for carbon capture, use and sequestration (“CCUS”), tax incentives for hydrogen energy, alternative fuel vehicles and carbon pricing and carbon offset programs such as the California Low Carbon Fuel Standards program.
In addition to negotiating various federal, state, and local incentives, Baker Botts can provide a turnkey representation for all aspects of project development, including financing, the full range of project documents (such as EPC contracts, O&M agreements, or production sharing), negotiation of governmental agreements, advising on environmental issues, import/export, commercial business transactions, and other aspects of the entire range of legal services often required for capital-intensive projects. A more detailed description of our project development capabilities and the project development legal team is found here.
