The 15th edition of the NMTC Progress Report shows the NMTC continues to grow businesses and create jobs in rural and urban communities left outside the economic mainstream.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 18, 2019) —The New Markets Tax Credit Coalition today released its 2019 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Progress Report, the fifteenth edition of the report—providing analysis of NMTC activities in 2018. The report documents the importance of the NMTC in providing 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 supporting childcare, youth, and families.
“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 Coalition spokesperson
Bob Rapoza. “The findings clearly demonstrate that the NMTC continues to
deliver capital to the communities left behind by the changing economy, with
nearly 80 percent of the activity in severely distressed U.S. census tracts in
the last year—far exceeding statutory requirements. Moreover, the Credit is
delivering a significant ‘bang for the buck’ for taxpayers in terms of the
jobs, amenities, community facilities, and tax revenue.”
The report was prepared
for 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.
Seventy-four CDEs participated in the 2019 survey and provided data on their
progress raising capital, lending, and investing in 2018 with the NMTC. The
survey findings show that competition for credits continues to drive gains in
efficiency. The data collected shows that CDEs used $3.2 billion in NMTC
allocation in 2018 to financed 286 NMTC projects, amounting to $6.1 billion in
total project investment to low-income communities. This financing resulted in
the creation of 58,360 total jobs including 32,917 permanent
full-time-equivalent jobs and 25,443 construction jobs.
“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 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 over one million
jobs,” Rapoza adds.
Across 48 states and
territories, CDEs rehabilitated or constructed 18.9 million square feet of
space in 2018, thanks to NMTC financing. NMTC financing supported 193 manufacturing
and industrial businesses with loans for working capital, new equipment, and
6.7 million sq. ft. of new space, often through incubators and multi-business
facilities, creating over 12,000 manufacturing jobs.
Furthermore, there were four
million people served by NMTC-financed community facilities including 445,000
patients in healthcare facilities and 460,000 children. Sixty-six percent of mixed
use (?) projects included at least one community facility, nonprofit, or social
service component. Those new community resources add up to 249 nonprofits
facilities, health centers, childcare centers, libraries, community centers,
and other community facilities. The report profiles NMTC financed businesses,
including a rural apparel manufacturer in Pagosa Springs, CO, a new Educare
facility in Springfield, MA, and a Boys and Girls Club in Manatee County, FL,
and it describes the impact of the NMTC in native communities in 2018.
Rapoza notes, “The
authorization for the NMTC expires this year. This report is further proof that
the Credit is working and Congress should expand and make the NMTC permanent.”
There is
currently legislation in Congress aimed at making the NMTC permanent, The NMTC
Extension Act of 2019, H.R. 1680 in the House and S. 750 in the Senate. There
are presently 30 Senators signed on in support of S. 750, which was introduced
by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). H.R. 1680 has 91
cosponsors, and is led by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Tom Reed (R-NY).
About New Markets Tax Credit
Program The New Markets
Tax Credit was enacted in 2000 in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L.106-554)
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. The NMTC is a 39 percent federal tax credit, taken over seven years,
on investments made in economically distressed communities. More than $95 billion
in capital has been put to work in underserved communities in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 23, 2019)– The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund announced the Calendar Year 2018 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation awards
today. The CDFI Fund awarded
$3.5 billion to 73 Community Development Entities (CDEs) from 35 states, Puerto
Rico, and the District of Columbia.
“The federal New Markets Tax
Credit is a unique and flexible community development tool with a successful
track record, attracting investment capital and boosting economic activity in
low-income areas,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesman for the NMTC Coalition. “In fact,
the NMTC has leveraged an unprecedented level of investment to low-income
communities—generating over $90 billion in total capital investment through
public-private partnerships that created more than one million jobs.”
The CDFI Fund indicated 214 CDEs
applied for allocations for a total demand of nearly $14.8 billion in credits. With
73 successful applications (34 percent) receiving $3.5 billion, meaning the availability of credits only meets a
fraction of the demand.
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 neighborhoods and rural communities. The NMTC provides a shallow federal
tax credit of 39 percent, taken over seven years, for investments in census
tracts where the individual poverty rate is at least 20 percent or where median
family income does not exceed 80 percent of the area median. However, 75
percent of NMTC activity is in the poorest rural and urban communities in
America, characterized by poverty of at least 30 percent and unemployment rates
1.5 times that the national average . Moreover, a recent independent report
commissioned by the CDFI Fund to evaluate the operation and outcomes of the
NMTC program found that CDEs are meeting and generally exceeding NMTC Program
requirements.
To date, the NMTC financed about
6,000 projects, including more than 2,000 community services and facilities,
such as hospitals, schools, daycare centers and non-profit service providers –
all in areas that weren’t able to provide access to residents before NMTC was
invested. As a result, the 17 million patients have been treated in NMTC-financed
healthcare projects, and nearly 250,000 students and children attend
NMTC-financed schools or receive care in early childhood learning centers.
The NMTC was most recently
provided a five-year authorization in The PATH Act. (P.L. 114-113) in December
2015. There is currently legislation in Congress aimed at making the NMTC
permanent, The NMTC Extension Act of 2019, H.R. 1680 in the House and S. 750 in
the Senate. There are presently 20 Senators signed on in support of S. 750,
which was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). H.R. 1680
has 75 cosponsors, led by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Tom Reed (R-NY).
“The NMTC is a great deal for
the federal government, leveraging eight
dollars in other investments in communities for every dollar in credits. But, most
importantly, the NMTC is a critical tool for our country’s small, overlooked
rural towns and blighted urban neighborhoods that have been left outside of the
economic mainstream for far too long. One-fifth of the 2018 awards will be made
in rural communities, with $682 million in NMTC investments going to revitalize
non-metropolitan counties,” said Rapoza.
Yesterday, on April 9th, the nation’s leading community development entities met with nearly one hundred Members of Congress and their staffs to discuss the advancement of bills introduced in the House and Senate in February that make permanent and expand the New Markets Tax Credit.
The fly-in, hosted by the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, included a briefing with keynotes from the House bill’s lead sponsors, Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Tom Reed (R-NY), and remarks by Reps. Jason Smith (R-MO) and TJ Cox (D-CA). The special gathering of legislators, congressional staff and NMTC practitioners from across the country was held in the House Ways and Means Committee Room.
“There are issues in Washington that are truly bipartisan, especially around efforts to spur revitalization in economically distress areas, so I’m a proponent of the New Markets Tax Credit,” said Rep. Sewell. “In my district, the NMTC has really made a big impact. I’m confident that when my colleagues realize all the benefits of the program, we will pass this legislation overwhelmingly.”
”We’ve seen the New Markets Tax Credit deployed across the country,” said Rep. Reed. “The NMTC is a policy that has broad bipartisan support. It is a tool in the toolbox that is changing communities. It’s all happening with the NMTC.”
NMTC practitioners presenting on their work. (L to R: Joe Summers, Urban Action Community Development; Pat Sluder, MassDevelopment; Bill Dana, Central Bank of Kansas City; Aisha Benson, TruFund Financial Services; and Kermit Billups, NMTC Coalition President)
Additional speakers at the briefing included Kermit Billups, Chair of the NMTC Coalition Board and Executive Vice President of Greenline Ventures, emcee and panelists Aisha Benson, Executive Vice President, TruFund Financial Services; Bill Dana, President and CEO, Central Bank Of Kansas City; Pat Sluder, Vice President, MassDevelopment; and Joe Summers, Vice President, Urban Action Community Development.
Following the panel of NMTC practitioners, Rep. Jason Smith (R-M) also addressed the briefing attendees.
(L to R) Reps. Sewell (D-Ala.), Smith (R-Mo.) and Reed (R-N.Y.) talk about their support for the New Markets Tax Credit during a recent industry coalition visit to Capitol Hill.
“I’m a huge supporter of the New Markets Tax Credit,” said Rep. Smith. “A lot of rural areas have persistent poverty, and the NMTC is a great program for us in helping them.”
Established in 2000, in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L.106-554), the New Markets Tax Credit is a bipartisan effort to drive economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities. Congress extended the NMTC for five years as part of The PATH Act. (P.L. 114- 113) in December 2015. As Congress and the Administration continue discussions around tax extender provisions post tax reform, organizations, businesses and communities that have seen the positive impact of the NMTC have increasingly urged Congress to make the credit a permanent part of the tax code.
“Last Congress, over 125 members of Congress from both parties cosponsored NMTC extension legislation. The strong support of the New Markets Tax Credit was a direct result of the tangible impact it makes in distressed rural and urban communities that have been left outside the economic mainstream,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “The NMTC has generated over 1,000,000 jobs and delivered $90 billion in total capital investment through public-private partnerships. However, without legislative action, this effective tool for community revitalization will expire December 31st.”
A majority of the members of the House Ways and Means Committee cosponsored NMTC extension legislation last session, and the new bill starts off with support from 20 members of the powerful tax-writing committee.
U.S. Department of the Treasury data indicates that more than 72 percent of NMTC activity is in severely distressed communities with unemployment rates at least 1.5 times the national average or with poverty rates of at least 30 percent. In FY 2018 alone, the CDFI Fund, which administers the program at the Treasury, reported that the NMTC delivered nearly $4 billion in financing to 680 businesses, community facilities and economic revitalization projects. Communities put the capital to work, creating nearly 9,500 permanent jobs and almost 30,000 construction jobs in areas with high unemployment and poverty rates.
For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s NMTC at Work in Communities report or check out its Project Profile Map.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2019
Contact: Ayrianne Parks
[email protected]
(202) 393-5225
Bipartisan Call to Make Permanent the Federal Tax Credit that Leverages Private Investment in Economically Distressed Communities, Expands Businesses and Creates Jobs
Washington, D.C. March 12, 2019 – Legislation was introduced in the House and Senate to secure the future of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC). Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY), introduced the House bill. In the Senate, the bill was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). The bills, both titled The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2019, would ensure that rural communities and urban neighborhoods left outside the economic mainstream have access to financing that stimulates economic growth and job creation.
Established in 2000, in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L.106-554), also called the New Markets Tax Credit, is a bipartisan effort to drive economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities. Congress extended the NMTC for five years as part of The PATH Act. (P.L. 114- 113) in December 2015. As Congress and the Administration continue to push tax reform, organizations, businesses and communities that have seen the positive impact of the NMTC have increasingly urged Congress to make the credit a permanent part of the tax code.
“Last Congress, over 125 members of Congress from both parties cosponsored NMTC extension legislation. The strong support of the New Markets Tax Credit was a direct result of the tangible impact it makes in distressed rural and urban communities that have been left outside the economic mainstream,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “The NMTC has generated over 1,000,000 jobs and delivered $90 billion in total capital investment through public-private partnerships.”
A majority of the members of the House Ways and Means Committee cosponsored NMTC extension legislation last session, and the new bill starts off with support from 17 members of the powerful tax-writing committee.
U.S. Department of the Treasury data indicates that more than 72 percent of NMTC activity is in severely distressed communities with unemployment rates at least 1.5 times the national average or with poverty rates of at least 30 percent. In FY 2018 alone, the CDFI Fund, which operates the program at the Treasury, reported that the NMTC delivered nearly $4 billion in financing to 680 businesses, community facilities and economic revitalization projects. Communities put the capital to work, creating nearly 9,500 permanent jobs and almost 30,000 construction jobs in areas with high unemployment and poverty rates.
House and Senate lawmakers have added their own perspective to the introduction of this legislation:
“The New Markets Tax Credit is an essential tool for revitalizing rural and urban communities across the country, and is a proven, cost-effective incentive that spurs investment in areas by providing businesses with flexible, affordable access to financing. I am confident that extending the tax credit will continue to help attract new investment in Alabama’s 7th District. New Markets Tax Credits have helped spur a number of important projects in the 7th District, including financing the Entrepreneurial Center in Birmingham and transforming the Huyck Felt brick plant into a new wood pellet manufacturing facility in Aliceville, creating 275 jobs,” said Congresswoman Terri Sewell.
“We care about boosting jobs here in New York and across the country, but unfortunately some small businesses – the backbone of our economy – still struggle to secure a fair amount of capital to spur revitalization. By creating a better environment for businesses we will see transformative projects to thrive – boosting wages, services and economic development where it’s needed most,” said Congressman Tom Reed.
“The New Markets Tax Credit is a critical tool for encouraging new investment in areas that need it most. This program has a successful record of expanding economic opportunities and improving quality of life in areas across our state, whether it’s financing a training center for sheet metal workers in St. Louis or the first new grocery store in more than a generation in Pagedale. This program benefits families and local economies and urban and rural areas alike, and I urge all of our colleagues to support it,” said Senator Roy Blunt.
“In Maryland, the New Markets Tax Credit has been deployed across our state on a diverse range of infrastructure and community development efforts, from an affordable housing project to provide apartments for educators and teachers in my home city of Baltimore, to a multicultural center for low-income minority families in Langley Park. I am pleased once again to be a supporter of this bipartisan legislation, which will create jobs and stimulate our economy in communities across Maryland and across America,” said Senator Ben Cardin.
Senators Roy Blunt and Ben Cardin were joined by four original cosponsors, including Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). In the House, Representatives Terri Sewell and Tom Reed were joined by Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), John Larson (D-CT), Daniel Kildee (D-MI), Danny Davis (D-IL), Ron Kind (D-WI), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Jason Smith (R-MO) and Darin LaHood (R-IL).
For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s NMTC at Work in Communities report or check out its Project Profile Map.
###
Coalition gathers NMTC stakeholders for a policy conference, releases new state statistics
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2018) — The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition held its Annual Conference on December 12 and 13 in Washington, D.C. The event featured members of Congress as keynote speakers, and panels on timely community development matters. Attendees were also provided with insights from the Treasury Department and the release of updated state statistics on NMTC efficacy.
NMTC Coalition President Kermit Billups opened the conference, welcoming speakers and guests. The experienced NMTC practitioner and Greenline Ventures EVP highlighted recent successes and looked to the future of the NMTC Coalition. Keynote speakers at the conference included U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.). Both indicated their desire to work with House colleagues to see the NMTC not only extended, but made permanent and expanded.
“We have seen firsthand the impact the New Markets Tax Credit program has had here in New York and want to ensure it has a fair shot at continuing to boost jobs in our community,” Congressman Reed said. “While the economy continues to grow, small businesses – the lifeblood of our economy – still struggle to secure the capital needed to spur revitalization.”
“The New Markets Tax Credit helps create a better environment for businesses and transformative projects to thrive – boosting wages, services and economic development where it’s needed most,” Reed concluded.
A legislative outlook panel was led by moderator Bob Rapoza, NMTC Coalition spokesman, and included key congressional staff. Many attendees headed to congressional visits that afternoon, followed by a reception in the Kennedy Caucus Room where they were addressed by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Senate NMTC Extension Act cosponsors and Senate Finance Committee members, who discussed NMTC impact and the future of tax policy.
Sen. Cardin said, “In Maryland, the New Markets Tax Credit has been deployed on a diverse range of infrastructure and community development efforts, from affordable housing, to health clinics, to community centers. Since 2003, the credit has resulted in billions of dollars in investment across the state and created over 34,000 jobs. It is time to make this incredibly valuable program permanent.”
Senator Rob Portman added, “Pro-growth federal policies are helping grow our economy and strengthen our communities. More than ever, we need to continue support for programs like the New Markets Tax Credit that spur investment in areas that truly need it and help create new industry, infrastructure, and jobs for cities and towns across the U.S. that have felt left behind. I’ve seen the results that these tax credits can have on our communities. Last year in Ohio, $280 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing generated a total of $462 million in public-private project investment for 29 projects in the state. Our local communities depend on these tax incentives for projects that transform our communities, create jobs, and make a real difference in peoples’ lives, and I’ll continue fighting to make them permanent.”
The final keynote of the conference came from Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Annie Donovan. At the close of her remarks, Donovan announced her departure from the CDFI Fund. During her five years as director, Donovan oversaw tremendous growth in the agency’s funding and programming and the largest ever CDFI and NMTC program award rounds. Integrating more data into policy-making was a top priority for Donovan.
Panels during the conference also included NMTC board and leadership, economic development experts and Treasury Department professionals. Those discussions focused on Opportunity Zones, NMTC investor prospects, NMTC financing disaster relief, and the latest insights from the Treasury Department.
“Since its inception, the New Markets Tax Credit has financed more than 5,000 projects and created over one million jobs,” said Bob Rapoza. “The conference provides practitioners with opportunities to discuss ways to build upon its success, helping low-income rural and urban communities access the capital necessary to grow local economies, expand business opportunities, update worn infrastructure, and make needed services like healthcare, education and childcare available to individuals and families living in distressed areas.”
Today, in a letter to the Ways and Means Committee, a bipartisan group of thirty-four members of the House of Representatives called for a New Markets Tax Credit extension during the Lame Duck session.
The off-committee letter, which was lead by Representatives Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Jose Serrano (D-NY), calls for a permanent extension of the NMTC. The program, which expires in 2019, continues to enjoy bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
Rep. Stivers visits an NMTC project in Wilmington, OH
U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers at the ribbon cutting for Wilmington College's new facility that incorporates education, athletics and recreation with community outreach via the presence of four medical partners also housed in the Center for Sport Sciences.
Report highlights NMTC project data from 2017, including 52 healthcare facilities, 69 manufacturers, 26 facilities for youth and families, and 23 vocational training centers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 6, 2018) —The New Markets Tax Credit Coalition today released its 2018 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Progress Report, the fourteenth edition of the report—providing a survey of NMTC activities in 2017. As in the past, the report documents the flexibility and importance of the NMTC in meeting the needs of the distressed communities where it is deployed and helping to create jobs and grow business opportunities, from more traditional industry and community sectors to new and cutting-edge technology. Despite considerable uncertainty associated with legislative battles on Capitol Hill in 2017, demand by investors remained at record levels despite the uncertainty of tax reform.
“The report findings show that the competition for credits is fierce, and continues to drive efficiency, investment and jobs,” said Kermit Billups, NMTC Coalition president and executive vice president of Greenline Ventures. “Last year’s projects, once again, raised the bar even higher. We’re happy to report the NMTC helped create 60,000 jobs through $5.8 billion in total project investment.”
The report was prepared for 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 Coalition spokesperson Bob Rapoza. “The findings clearly demonstrate that the NMTC continues to deliver capital to the communities left behind by the changing economy, with 83 percent of projects in severely distressed communities in the last year—far exceeding statutory requirements. Moreover, the program is delivering a significant ‘bang for the buck’ for taxpayers in terms of the jobs, amenities, community facilities, and tax revenue it generates.”
Eighty-nine CDEs participated in the 2018 survey and provided data on their progress raising capital, lending, and investing for 271 projects in 2017 with the NMTC. All told, the report analyzed 81 percent of the NMTC activity in 2017, or about $3.9 billion out of $4.8 billion. Respondents reported projects in 45 states plus the District of Columbia, and they ranged from a public library to a sprawling, $200 million multi-use campus for entrepreneurship.
“As we have seen year over year, the NMTC has unleashed an unprecedented amount of investment in areas struggling with high unemployment and poverty,” added Rapoza. “State by state, community by community, the impact and flexibility of the NMTC continues to create economic opportunity in every corner of the nation.”
For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s NMTC at Work in Communities report or check out its Project Profile Map.
About New Markets Tax Credit Program
The New Markets Tax Credit 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. The NMTC is a 39 percent federal tax credit, taken over seven years, on investments made in economically distressed communities. Today due to NMTC, more than $75 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund announced the Calendar Year 2017 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation awards today. The CDFI Fund awarded $3.5 billion to 73 Community Development Entities (CDEs) from around the country.
“The federal New Markets Tax Credit is a unique and flexible community development tool with a successful track record, attracting investment capital and boosting economic activity in low-income areas,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesman for the NMTC Coalition. “In fact, the NMTC has leveraged an unprecedented level of investment to low-income communities—generating about $82 billion in total capital investment through public-private partnerships that created more than one million jobs.”
The CDFI Fund indicated 230 CDEs applied for allocations for a total demand of nearly $16.2 billion in credits. Only 73 applications were successful (31.7 percent), receiving $3.5 billion—an amount that only meets a fraction of the demand.
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 neighborhoods and rural communities. The NMTC works by providing a shallow federal tax credit of 39 percent, taken over seven years, for investments made in census tracts where the individual poverty rate is at least 20 percent or where median family income does not exceed 80 percent of the area median. Moreover, a recent independent report commissioned by the CDFI Fund to evaluate the operation and outcomes of the NMTC program found that CDEs are meeting and generally exceeding NMTC Program requirements.
Final 2017 NMTC Award Book v4 021218
Between 2003 and 2015 the NMTC financed over 5,000 projects, including nearly 2,000 community services and facilities, such as hospitals, schools, daycare centers and non-profit service providers – all in areas that weren’t able to provide access to residents before NMTC was invested. As a result, the 17 million patients served by NMTC-financed healthcare projects to the nearly 250,000 students and children attending NMTC-financed schools or receiving care in early childhood learning centers.
The NMTC was most recently provided a five-year authorization in The PATH Act. (P.L. 114-113) in December 2015. There is currently legislation in Congress aimed at making the NMTC permanent, The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2017, H.R. 1098 in the House and S. 384 in the Senate. There are presently 13 Senators signed on in support of S. 384, which was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). H.R. 1098 has over 90 cosponsors, led by Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY), and Richard E. Neal (D-MA), who is the Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Committee.
“The NMTC is a great deal for the federal government, generating eight dollars in tax revenue for every dollar in credits. But, most importantly, the NMTC is a critical tool for our country’s small, overlooked rural towns and blighted urban neighborhoods that have been left outside of the economic mainstream for far too long,” said Rapoza.
For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s NMTC at Work in Communities report or check out its Project Profile Map.
Contact: Bob Rapoza
[email protected]
(202) 393-5225
NMTC Coalition Annual Conference attendees successfully pushed for the preservation of the largest federal incentive for investment in low-income communities
Last week, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition held its New Markets Tax Credit Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The event featured a newly released report on the NMTC’s economic impact, keynotes from NMTC champions Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representative Tom Reed (R-NY), as well as remarks from the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Annie Donovan and City of Dayton, Ohio Commissioner Christopher Shaw.
Keynote Speakers (from left to right): Rep. Reed, CDFI Fund Director Donovan, Sen. Blunt, Commissioner Shaw
The NMTC Coalition’s Board President Robert Davenport, emceed the event. A longtime NMTC practitioner and past president of the National Development Council, he highlighted the important timing of this year’s annual conference with Congress working to reconcile their tax bills, including the NMTC.
“This year’s conference came at a pivotal time for the NMTC community. The House tax bill was set to terminate the NMTC, while the Senate maintained the Credit’s current authorization for 2018 and 2019 that was provided in the PATH Act, which was passed in December 2015,” said Davenport. “The future of the NMTC—and the economically distressed rural and urban communities where it is invested—was hanging in the balance. Fortunately, the members of the conference committee understood the importance of the NMTC.”
Panels included senior Treasury and CDFI Fund staff, experts on NMTC and the law, a session on the use of the NMTC in disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts, and an investor roundtable. There was also a session on new reports on the NMTC, including an independent report by Summit Consulting, LLC that was commissioned by the CDFI Fund and released in August, as well as the third edition of the NMTC Economic Impact Report that was released by the Coalition on December 8th.
Legislative outlook session with Bob Rapoza, Rapoza Associates; Beth Bell, Office of Sen. Cardin; and Will Davis, Office of Rep. Reed.
“Both of these recent reports on the NMTC clearly indicate that the credit is promoting economic revitalization in some of the poorest communities in America, far surpassing the statutory requirements. Further, the NMTC Economic Impact Report, which analyzed U.S. Department of Treasury data and survey data from 5,000 projects financed by the Credit, found that those NMTC investments created more than one million jobs and financed nearly 2,000 community services and facilities, including hospitals, schools, nonprofit service providers, and day care centers from 2003 to 2015,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesman for the Coalition.
Attendees at the conference were provided time to head to Capitol Hill and meet with their legislators on the NMTC. They shared examples of their work using the NMTC to attract private capital to distressed rural towns and blighted urban neighborhoods, generate economic activity, and create jobs and access to services needed by the communities where the credit is invested.
On the final day of the conference, reports surfaced that the tax reform conferees had agreed to adopt the Senate’s position and preserve the NMTC. On Friday, December 15th, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady released the final text of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1.
The bill leaves the New Markets Tax Credit in place through 2019. The final text also repeals the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The Senate-passed bill had included a corporate AMT rate of twenty percent, a proposal which would have created significant challenges for tax credits like the NMTC. Today, with a few technical changes incorporated, Congress will send the tax bill on to the President for his signature.
“NMTC investments generated more than $156 billion in economic activity in low-income communities from 2003 to 2015, which results in more than enough federal income tax revenue to more than cover the cost of the Credit. With that kind of track record, and a cost of just $1.7 billion over ten years, it was difficult to understand why the House proposed to terminate the New Markets Tax Credit in the first place. The NMTC is a great deal for the federal government, but most importantly it is a critical tool for our country’s small, overlooked rural towns and blighted urban neighborhoods that have been left outside of the economic mainstream for far too long. We applaud the conference committee for their work to maintain the Senate’s position on the NMTC and maintain the credit’s authorization for 2018 and 2019, as was agreed to in the bipartisan PATH Act that Congress passed in December 2015,”said Rapoza.
