TAX POLICY LEADERS PUSH FOR NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT PERMANENCE
Washington, DC
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December 14, 2023 03:50 PM Eastern Standard Time
Tax policy trends and community economic development were the focus at the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition annual NMTC Conference, held this week. The event featured three prominent members of Congress, CDFI Fund Acting Director Marcia Sigal and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Economic Development, US Treasury Department Noel Poyo, as keynote speakers.
Conference participants noted the need to pass legislation calling for the NMTC’s permanence as a key tax policy.
Congressional keynote speakers included longtime champions of the NMTC, including Ranking Member on the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), lead sponsor of the H.R. 2539, the New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2023 and one of the lead sponsors of the Senate companion bill, S. 234, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT).
Panelists included congressional staff, NMTC board members and leadership, investors and economic development leaders, Treasury Department officials, and legal experts. Panels held discussions on community economic development, the pending permanent extension of the Treasury Department program, legislative hurdles, and the latest insights from the Treasury Department.
During this Congress, both the Senate and House introduced bills (S. 234 and H.R. 2539) with bipartisan support to make the NMTC extension permanent. Establishing permanence will provide certainty in delivering resources to low-income and marginalized communities, creating jobs, increasing economic opportunity, and improving lives at a time when underserved communities face significant challenges.
“I’m a passionate advocate,” said Sen. Daines, who co-lead the introduction of the bill backing NMTC permanence in the U.S. Senate. “The New Markets Tax Credit is a really important part of what we do in Montana, as it is around the country. I’m passionate about making it permanent.”
“We’re going to push for permanence,” said Rep. Tenney, lead sponsor of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, noting the NMTC had helped bring more than 400 well-paying jobs to her district. “It’s something we’re going to fight for.”
“The New Markets program plays a significant role in financing many vital businesses and community projects that are overlooked by traditional lending markets,” said Rep. Neal. “It helps to breathe new life into our neglected and underserved low-income communities. We’ve leveraged these funds to preserve and create jobs, and to build successful businesses. In my district alone, there are 27 New Markets projects. The amount of good that these projects have done for the community cannot be understated: hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.
“One of my proudest accomplishments as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee was when I was able to secure a five-year extension of the program in 2020. Our work is not done, though: we need to make the New Markets Tax Credit permanent,” added Rep. Neal.
In December 2020, Congress enacted a 5-year, $25 billion NMTC extension through 2025, the largest in the program’s history.
Throughout its 20-year history, the NMTC has delivered more than $130 billion to rural and urban communities outside the economic mainstream, which has led to more than 8,000 businesses and projects and over one million jobs.
“With more than two decades of bipartisan successes under our belt, we’re continuing our push to increase funds and to make the NMTC permanent,” said Bob Rapoza, NMTC Coalition spokesperson. “At a time when the economic frailty of our underserved communities has never been more apparent, we see a tremendous opportunity for our coalition to help create jobs, spread opportunity, and put America back on a solid financial footing, and we implore Congress to make it happen.”
ABOUT THE NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT
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 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, more than $130 billion, which has financed over 8,000 projects and businesses, 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.
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