Christopher J. Knezevic
Practice Areas
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., 2005
- Miami University, B.A., 2002, cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
Chris is of counsel in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the probate and tax group. He has a decade of experience advising domestic and international companies on economic development incentives, tax incentives and site selection analysis. He has helped his clients, spanning from Fortune 100 corporations to small and middle market enterprises in jurisdictions across the U.S., obtain more than $500 million in incentives.
Chris has experience assisting clients from a variety of industries, including manufacturing, financial services, energy, distribution, transportation, healthcare, education and retail.
His notable experience includes:
- Identifying, negotiating, and implementing economic incentives and tax credits for clients relocating, expanding, consolidating, or experiencing significant operational changes.
- Assisting clients with financing transactions related to federal and state incentives, such as New Markets Tax Credits, tax increment financing and bond issuances.
- Advising clients on various real estate acquisitions, permitting requirements and regulatory matters as well as in general tax and corporate matters.
Chris received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A. cum laude from Miami University.
News
- 4/30/2019Recently, a financial closing took place for the redevelopment of the Dayton Arcade complex. The developer described the financing structure as "one of the largest and most complex, using these types of redevelopment financing tools layered together, in the United States."
- 5/23/2017Vorys announced today that Jonathan Stock and Christopher Knezevic, attorneys with more than 30 years of combined experience, have joined the firm’s economic development incentives practice.
Events
- 2/25/2022Vorys’ Economic Development Incentives Conference, the largest such annual conference in the nation, returned for the seventh year. We hosted a multitude of sessions focused on trends and best practices regarding economic development incentives for developers, companies and community leaders.
- 2/16/2021Vorys’ sixth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference, the largest such annual conference in the nation, went virtual. We hosted multiple one-hour sessions daily with guest speakers from ten different states across the country. Topics covered trends and best practices regarding economic development incentives.
- 10/20/2020Partnered with OMEGA (Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association), Vorys Partner Scott Ziance, Former Ohio State Senator (D) and Principal for Vorys Advisors Lou Gentile, and Vorys Associate Chris Knezevic discussed economic incentives and programs that Ohio communities can utilize to advance economic development.
- 2/21/2020Vorys hosted its fifth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference on February 21, 2020.
- 2/22/2019Vorys hosted its fourth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference on February 22, 2019.
- 2/23/2018The Vorys Economic Development Incentives Conference was held on February 23, 2018 in Columbus, OH.
Insights
- 6/6/2022On June 1, 2022, the Ohio General Assembly passed Substitute Senate Bill Number 225 (S.B. 225) to expand the Ohio Opportunity Zones Tax Credit Program and the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program and amend certain other provisions.
- 4/11/2022
- Spring 2022On March 2, 2022, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) made 13 awards for a total of $100,000,000 of tax credits pursuant to Section 122.09 of the Ohio Revised Code, the Transformational Mixed-Use Development (TMUD) Tax Credit.
- 3/9/2022The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a detailed guidance and brief fact sheet on March 8, 2022, providing details on how money from the new infrastructure law will be distributed to communities needing federal funds for local sewer and water projects.
- Winter 2021On December 7, 2021, Governor DeWine issued Executive Order 2021-16D authorizing the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to adopt temporary rules for the Brownfield Remediation Fund (the “Brownfield Program”) and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program (the “Demolition Program”).
- Winter 2021On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law a historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”).
- 12/9/2021
- 7/28/2021Among the new economic development programs created in Amended Substitute House Bill 110 (H.B. 110 or the Budget Bill) are enhanced potential incentives for megaprojects.
- 7/26/2021The Ohio General Assembly recently enacted and funded new state programs to encourage redevelopment of sites, including both brownfield and non-brownfield sites. H.B. 110, the state’s main operating appropriations bill for FY 2021-2022, was signed into effect on June 30, 2021.
- 7/1/2021On June 30, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed Amended Substitute House Bill 110 (H.B. 110 or the Budget Bill), which creates the biennial budget for State fiscal years (SFY) 2022-2023 (July 1, 2021-June 30, 2023).
- Summer 2021On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) (ARP) into law.
- 4/7/2021The State of Ohio offers several economic development incentive programs targeted at supporting and increasing diversity and inclusion in the business community.
- Winter 2021On December 29, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine signed Amended Substitute Senate Bill 39 (S.B. 39), which creates the Transformational Mixed-Use Development (TMUD) Tax Credit.
- Winter 2021We virtually welcomed in February more than 200 guests at Vorys’ sixth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – the nation’s largest annual conference focused on economic development incentives.
- 12/10/2020On December 9th, the Ohio Senate concurred with the House amendments to Amended Substitute Senate Bill 39 (S.B. 39), which will be sent to Governor DeWine for his consideration.
- 11/20/2020
- 11/19/2020Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in July signed House Bill 732, which created a new transferable tax credit for businesses manufacturing fertilizers and petrochemicals using dry natural gas.
- 8/19/2020
- 6/29/2020On June 24th, the Ohio Senate concurred in the Ohio House amendments and passed Amended Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), which will now be sent to Governor DeWine for his signature.
- 5/5/2020JobsOhio, the private nonprofit economic development organization in Ohio, is developing a new initiative named the Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP).
- 4/8/2020The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted both our health and our economy. JobsOhio and ODSA are helping businesses cope.
- 3/30/2020On Friday, March 27th, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 197 (H.B. 197), which enacts several provisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the provisions, the new law permits the use of electronic communications in lieu of in-person meetings during the emergency declared by the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-01D (but not beyond December 1, 2020).
- Winter 2020We welcomed in February more than 300 guests at Vorys’ fifth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – again making it the nation’s largest conference focused solely on economic development incentives.
- 3/3/2020
- Fall 2019Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly took action to end a longstanding economic border war between the two states.
- 12/13/2019
- 12/2/2019Taxpayers interested in claiming the Ohio Opportunity Zone Tax Credit (OZ Tax Credit) for tax year 2019 should be aware that the window to apply for the first come, first served tax credit will open on January 2, 2020 at 10:00am EST.
- 7/31/2019In the Summer 2019 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, read about the provisions that impact state law governing economic development incentives in Ohio's Budget Bill and the changes coming to Ohio's Job Retention Tax Credit.
- Summer 2019On July 18, 2019, Governor DeWine signed into law House Bill 166 (HB 166), the Ohio biennial operating budget bill.
- 7/10/2019On June 12, 2019, the Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 95. The bill, sponsored by State Senators Bob Peterson and Stephanie Kunze, has been sent to the House for further consideration.
- Spring 2019Through Vorys’ fourth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – hosted in February – we welcomed more than 270 guests from three countries and seven states.
- 9/10/2018On August 29, 2018, House Speaker Pro Tempore Kirk Schuring introduced a bill (H.B. No. 727) to create a tax credit for investments in Qualified Opportunity Zones.
- 7/3/2018In the Summer 2018 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, read our Top 10 most interesting facts about the Foxconn deal, read a recap of the Ohio Supreme Court decision on what takes priority – a TIF exemption or another exemption, and seven interesting things to know about the City of Columbus' proposed incentives policy.
- 6/27/2018Earlier this year, the City of Columbus announced it would be implementing a new incentives policy impacting residential post-1994 Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs) in the city.
- Spring 2018Vorys third annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – hosted in February – welcomed more than 160 guests from several states across the country.
- 3/23/2018In the Spring 2018 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, read a Q&A with Chris Chung, CEO of North Carolina’s Economic Development Partnership; learn about strategies for successfully obtaining New Market Tax Credit financing; and see a recap of Vorys’ 2018 Economic Development Incentives Conference.
- 2/5/2018Columbus has implemented a new policy prohibiting businesses from benefiting from incentives granted and administered by Columbus for any year in which the business elects to file its Columbus net profits tax return with the Ohio Department of Taxation (the department).
- Fall 2017One of Illinois’ main economic development incentives is back. On September 18, 2017, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law H.B. 162, which reinstates the Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) Tax Credit Program and extends the sunset date to June 30, 2022.
- 11/15/2017In the Fall 2017 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, read a Q&A with Kenny McDonald, president and chief economic officer of Columbus 2020; learn about how the new effective date for the Ohio historic preservation tax credit certificates could cause a delay in claiming credit; and learn more about what it mean now that Illinois was reinstated and revised the EDGE Tax Credit.
- 8/29/2017Ohio Governor John Kasich signed in June Am. Sub. House Bill 49, which allowed for the creation of transportation financing districts, a new economic development incentive.
- 8/9/2017In the Summer 2017 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, learn five more common TIF misconceptions, read about the growing pains municipalities are facing with GASB 77 and find out which Ohio county auditors will complete the required six-year tax appraisal of all properties located in their counties this year.
- Summer 2017The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) made waves in the economic development community in 2015 when it issued Statement No. 77 (GASB 77). GASB 77 requires governments, for the first time, to disclose in the notes of their financial statements the amount of tax revenues the government has promised to forego through tax abatements.