|
NAHMA is a member of A.C.T.I.O.N. (A Call To Invest in Our Neighborhoods), a group working to ensuring that families have access to affordable housing. NAHMA requests your assistance in our grassroots advocacy efforts to include A.C.T.I.O.N.'s proposals to improve the LIHTC program in the Senate Jobs Bill. We have supported this proposal since the beginning of the financial crisis in late 2008.
Please call your Senators today and request in the Senate Jobs Bill, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE), the inclusion of:
- The increase in the Housing Tax Credit carry-back for up to five years;
- An extension for the Housing Credit cash-exchange program (Section 1602) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for one more year to 2010 housing credits; and
- Allowing the LIHTC potential investor base to be expanded to pass-through entities - LLCs and Subchapter S corporations - and closely held corporations.
If you cannot directly speak with your representative, please request the staff member that handles low-income housing tax credits in the office. Time is running out to gain support for these proposals!
A.C.T.I.O.N.'s LIHTC carry-back proposal contains two parts. First, the proposal allows investors reinvest the entire amount of unused housing tax credits carried-back immediately into new LIHTC investments. Second, the proposal would make the LIHTC for new housing more competitive with other tax credits with shorter compliance and holding periods, by permitting future credits to be carried back up to five years throughout the 10-year credit period.
Extending Section 1602 of ARRA, the LIHTC cash-exchange program, will allow states to exchange LIHTCs generated from tax-exempt bond financed housing for one more year to 2010 housing credits. It will provide properties with additional time to meet the requirements of the cash-exchange program, preserve more existing affordable multifamily rental housing, and expand the stock of affordable multifamily rental housing available to Americans.
Diversifying the LIHTC investor base to include entities outside of commercial banking, i.e. pass-through entities and closely held corporations, will attract additional equity capital for areas currently struggling to finance their LIHTC deals, especially in suburban and rural areas.
The A.C.T.I.O.N. coalition has determined that these critically needed proposals will:
- Provide needed affordable housing to low-income Americans nationwide;
- Without any action, 60,000 new affordable apartments may be lost annually.
- With Congressional action, 138,000 new affordable apartments could be constructed or rehabilitated through 2011.
- Create and protect local jobs; and
- Without any action, as many as 70,000 construction jobs may be lost annually.
- With Congressional action, 160,000 jobs could be created or saved through 2011.
- Help stimulate the economy.
- $12 billion in local income
- $1.2 billion in revenue to states and localities
- $3.4 billion in federal revenue
Please call your Senators and their LIHTC staff, especially:
- Senator Harry Reid (D-NV, Senate Majority Leader)
- Senator Max Baucus (D-MT, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee);
- Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee);
- Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND, Chairman of the Senate Finance Taxation and IRS Subcommittee); and
- Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Taxation and IRS Subcommittee).
For information on contacting your Senators, please click here: http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
For additional talking points, you may visit http://rentalhousingaction.org/about-action/advocacy-toolkit. A detailed description of the impact of the carry-back proposal is located here: http://www.rentalhousingaction.org/files/Carryback_Proposal_Sep09.pdf.
NAHMA also has a one page briefing of the A.C.T.I.O.N. proposals at: http://www.nahma.org/Leg%20area/ACTION%20LIHTC%20Proposals%20Talking%20Points.pdf
Trackback(0)
 |
News 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed