Washington, D.C. | June 23, 2022 — The New Markets Tax Credit Coalition today released its 2022 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Progress Report, the eighteenth edition of the report—providing analysis of NMTC activities in 2021.
The report was prepared by the NMTC Coalition, a national membership organization of Community Development Entities (CDEs) and investors organized to advocate on behalf of the NMTC. Every year since 2005, the NMTC Coalition surveys CDEs on their work delivering billions of dollars to businesses, creating jobs, and rejuvenating the parts of the country that have been left behind. The annual NMTC Progress Report presents the findings of the CDE survey and provides policymakers and practitioners with the latest trends and successes of the NMTC.
“The Coalition’s annual survey asks CDEs to report on the deployment of their allocation, investor trends, and a variety of community impact metrics,” said Aisha Benson, NMTC Coalition Board Chair and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of TruFund Financial Services, a national CDE based in New York City. “The findings clearly demonstrate the continued improvement and refinement of the program’s efficiency and impact in low-income communities. Two decades after its introduction, the NMTC is no longer simply just a tool for delivering investment – instead, it has become one of the federal government’s most effective tools for job creation and economic stabilization.”
Report highlights include:
JOBS AND INVESTMENT
- 277 projects totaling $6.1 billion received $3.2 billion in NMTC allocation (at a ten-year cost to the federal government of $832 million).
- Projects generated 52,718 jobs in 2021, including 33,205 permanent full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs, and 19,513 construction jobs. The federal cost per job averaged just over $15,000.
AREAS TARGETED
- Projects were located in 185 cities within 47 states and territories.
- Eighty-six percent of projects were located in severely distressed communities and a record 31 percent of NMTC-financing went to non-metropolitan counties.
- Forty-nine percent of projects were in communities of color (majority-minority census tracts. Eight projects (2.9%) were in Indian Country.
COMPONENTS OF PROJECTS
- Jump-starting American Manufacturing: NMTC financing supported 111 manufacturing and industrial businesses with direct loans and equity investment toward working capital, new equipment, and 7.4 million sq. ft. of new or renovated industrial space, including shared, light industrial space for multiple manufacturing businesses.
- Real Estate: NMTC financing supported the construction or renovation of 17 million sq. ft. of real estate and the construction or renovation of 3,790 housing units, 2,599 of which were targeted to low-to-moderate-income households.
EQUITY PRICING
- NMTC equity pricing increased over the course of 2021. The median price reported was 74 cents, and pricing ranged from 50 cents to 93 cents.
STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY ASSETS
- Expanding Access to Healthcare: The NMTC expanded healthcare access for 1.1 million individuals through 73 projects. Those projects included 50 federally qualified health centers and free clinics.
- Expanding Access to Services:
- Sixty-two percent of projects included at least one community facility, affordable housing, nonprofit, or social service component. Those new community resources add up to 374 nonprofits, health centers, childcare centers, libraries, community centers, and other community facilities and social service providers.
- More than 41,000 children will attend a new school, participate in a new youth program, or stay in a NMTC-financed childcare or early education facility.
- More than 56,000 individuals will receive vocational training, take advantage of expanded college and university facilities, receive financial education, or participate in other adult education or workforce development programs.
- Food banks, pantries, and community food programs financed in 2021 will facilitate an estimated 352 million meals to the food insecure.
- Nearly 600,000 people each year will visit NMTC-financed performing arts facilities, museums, recreation centers, and other new cultural amenities.
CASE STUDIES
- Wyotech: The $33 million expansion of WyoTech, a technical college in Laramie, WY.
- Bethany House Services: A new comprehensive homeless service center in Cincinnati, OH
Fifty-seven CDEs participated in the 2022 survey and provided data on their progress raising capital, lending, and investing in 2021 with the NMTC. The survey findings show that competition for credits continues to drive gains in efficiency.
“Year after year, the data shows the NMTC not only delivers an unprecedented level of capital to low-income rural and urban communities, but it also creates much-needed jobs—helping individuals and families thrive and, in turn, grows those local economies where they live and work. In fact, since 2003, the NMTC has created more than one million jobs. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, this important incentive for community revitalization is needed now more than ever,” said Coalition spokesperson Bob Rapoza.
The report showcases the importance of the NMTC in providing more than two decades worth of patient, flexible capital to businesses and projects located in distressed rural and urban communities, thereby creating jobs and growing business opportunities. The NMTC financing ranges from more traditional industry and community sectors to new and cutting-edge technology. Projects and businesses that benefited from the Credit in the past year include manufacturing, healthcare, schools, and many others supporting childcare, youth, and families.
Rapoza notes, “This report is further proof that the NMTC is working and Congress should expand and make the Credit permanent. It has the potential to positively impact communities across the country for years to come.”
About New Markets Tax Credit Program
The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was enacted in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to the patient capital needed to support and grow businesses, create jobs, and sustain healthy local economies. Since its inception, the NMTC has generated more than one million jobs. Today, due to the NMTC, nearly $120 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.NMTCCoalition.org.
Contact Details
Greg Wilson
+1 571-239-7474