DNC Convention Highlights NMTC Success in Philly
Philadelphia has seen its share of the limelight over the past year, with a visit from the Pope in the fall of 2015 and the Democratic National Convention, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the City of Brotherly Love this July. Anyone who has not visited Philly for ten years will notice some significant changes, from the revitalization of Fishtown to the new development in Northern Liberties. According to the Census Bureau, Philly’s population grew in 2015 for the eighth year in a row after decades of population loss.
Despite the recent progress, more than 400,000 Philadelphia residents live in poverty and city residents lack access to adequate social services. The New Markets Tax Credit has helped open 25 new community facilities in the city, improving access to healthcare, nonprofit service providers, and fresh food and providing affordable housing to attract and retain teachers in the city.
According to the latest data from the CDFI Fund, the New Markets Tax Credit has delivered over $1 billion in financing to 59 businesses and economic revitalization projects in low income areas of Philadelphia at a cost to the federal government of a fraction of that amount, $180 million. Those projects have created about 2,300 jobs.
Philadelphia Project Profiles
To browse a wide variety of Philadelphia NMTC projects, visit the project portfolios of the following organizations that have used the credit in Philly:
- PIDC Philadelphia
- Commonwealth Cornerstone Group
- The Reinvestment Fund
- LISC New Markets Support Company
Clinton Calls for an Expanded and Permanent Tax Credit
Hillary Clinton recognizes that the NMTC is an important tool for revitalizing communities left behind. Secretary Clinton has called for an expanded and permanent NMTC, and has urged Congress to increase allocation to $10 billion annually. From her website:
- The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) has helped to attract more than $60 billion in private investment in communities with high rates of poverty and unemployment since it was implemented during the Clinton Administration. In Sumter, South Carolina, for example, the NMTC is supporting a new manufacturing plant that will bring 1,600 new jobs. Clinton is committed to making the NMTC permanent, doubling the amount of credits available to low-income communities, and adding new credits for communities hardest hit by decline. These enhancements to the NMTC will encourage greater investment into communities that need it most.
She also hopes to use the NMTC to revitalize coal communities.