Bill Introduced in House Calls for NMTC to Receive Permanent Extension at $5 Billion

NMTC Coalition Applauds Reps. Tenney, 25 Colleagues for Introducing Bill to Deliver Much Needed Resources to Marginalized Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 6, 2023) – Today, U.S. Representatives Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Extension Act of 2023, joined by original cosponsors Danny Davis (D-IL), Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Terri Sewell (D-AL).  Additional cosponsors include Rep. Miller (R-WV), Rep. Ferguson (R-GA), Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Smucker (R-PA), Rep. Wenstrup (R-OH), Rep. LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Yakym III (R-IN), Rep. Steube (R-FL), Rep. Carey (R-OH), Rep. Buchanan (R-FL), Rep. Van Duyne (R-TX), Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Sánchez (D-CA), Rep. Higgins (D-NY), Rep. DelBene (D-WA), Rep. Chu (D-CA), Rep. Moore (D-WI), Rep. Kildee (D-MI), Rep. Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Evans (D-PA), Rep. Panetta (D-CA).

The legislation permanently extends the NMTC at $5 billion in annual credit authority, adjusts that amount for inflation in future years and provides an exception from the Alternative Minimum Tax for New Markets investments.

“Now more than ever, it is essential that we work to create investments in our rural and low-income communities,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Rural America is often forgotten by the Washington elites, which means that rural communities sometimes lack the necessary resources to invest, grow, and expand. Congress must make the New Markets Tax Credit permanent to allow our rural communities to continue accessing this important resource which helps to create jobs and stimulate economic growth. As a small business owner from rural America, I will always be a tenacious advocate for investments in our rural communities and businesses in Congress.”

“In Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, we have seen firsthand the power of the New Markets Tax Credit to spur investment and incentivize economic growth in some of our must vulnerable and underserved communities,” said Congresswoman Sewell. “The New Markets Tax Credit remains a critical tool to promote job creation and provide opportunities to those who need them most. We must ensure that this tool is made a permanent part of our tax code, and that’s exactly what this legislation would do.”

“Over the years, the New Markets Tax Credit has well-proven its worth by revitalizing neighborhoods and cities and that need the help the most,” said Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax. “The New Markets Tax Credit Extension (NMTC) Act would allow more communities across the country to receive the benefits that I have seen firsthand in my district, including 518 new jobs from three projects in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Since the program’s inception, the NMTC has created over 24,000 permanent jobs and 27,000 construction across Pennsylvania. Along with revitalizing American’s Main Streets, the NMTC program is a job creator and I’m proud to support this legislation again in the 118th Congress!”

In recent years, Congress has taken action to expand and sustain the NMTC. In 2019, Congress increased the annual allocation of Credits to $5 billion, a 44 percent increase over the previous years, andin 2020, Congress enacted a five extension of the NMTC, the largest in the program’s history.

The NMTC Extension Act of 2023 establishes the NMTC as a permanent part of the tax code, which will provide certainty in delivering resources to low-income and marginalized communities. NMTC projects create jobs, increase economic opportunity, andimprove lives at a time when the financial frailty of our underserved communities has never been more apparent. 

“This House bill joins its Senate companion (S. 234) to provide bipartisan and bicameral support for a 20-year-old program with a clear track record of creating jobs and bringing much-needed economic development to underserved areas,” said Aisha Benson, President of the NMTC Coalition and President and CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund. “We believe the NMTC is an effective program deserving of a permanent home in our tax code.”

Established in 2000 in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L. 106-554), the New Markets Tax Credit is a bipartisan effort to stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income urban and rural communities. Since 2021, $63.4 billion in NMTC allocation has been deployed to 7,615 projects and businesses, totaling $120.5 billion in total project investment, resulting in:

  • More than one million total jobs in all 50 states;
  • 228 million sq. ft. of real estate;
  • 1,073 mixed-use projects;
  • More than 3,500 federally qualified health centers, schools, daycare centers, vocational programs, treatment facilities, and other service providers supporting tens of millions of low-income people; and
  • 1,803 manufacturing projects.

“The New Markets Tax Credit has been and remains absolutely vital for many of America’s urban neighborhoods and rural communities and will provide billions of dollars for high-impact, community revitalization projects,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “Over the years, the credit has been instrumental in financing plant and equipment for small manufacturing businesses and patient, flexible capital to other small businesses, hospitals, healthcare centers, homeless shelters and other transformative projects that improve communities, create jobs and economic opportunity. We appreciate the leadership of Representatives Tenney and Sewell in promoting more investment in distressed communities.”

About New Markets Tax Credit Program

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was enacted in 2000 to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities lacking the patient capital 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 NMTC, more than $120 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. For examples of how the NMTC impacts each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s project database and state fact sheets. For more information, visit www.NMTCCoalition.org.