SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) May 12, 2015
Members of the LIHTC Working Group last month sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee’s community development and infrastructure tax reform working group, urging lawmakers to retain and enhance the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) as they consider comprehensive tax reform. The Senate Finance Committee in January formed five bipartisan tax reform working groups, each with its own focus area: individual income tax; business tax; savings and investment; international tax; and community development and infrastructure. The community development and infrastructure working group will examine the LIHTC, the new markets tax credit (NMTC) and the historic tax credit (HTC). The groups are expected to present tax reform options by the end of May.
“In discussions of various tax reform proposals, it’s important for Congress to preserve programs that deliver on their promised outcomes, such as the low-income housing tax credit,” said Stacey Stewart, CPA, a partner in Novogradac & Company LLP’s Dover, Ohio, office who leads the LIHTC Working Group’s efforts. “The LIHTC is one of the most important resources available for creating and preserving affordable housing and is sorely needed to address the growing affordable housing supply gap of 8.2 million homes for the lowest income households.”
The LIHTC Working Group in its comment letter recommended retaining current resources and provisions that it said are essential to building and preserving affordable housing, such as the 9 percent and 4 percent LIHTCs, multifamily housing private activity bonds, a 27.5-year residential rental real estate depreciation period and a proposal to compensate for decreased LIHTC equity resulting from a reduced corporate tax rate. The group also urged lawmakers to expand LIHTC resources, such as an increased per-capita allocation or allowing states to convert private activity bond cap into LIHTCs. Some of the suggested improvements for greater efficiency of existing LIHTC resources include enacting permanent minimum rates for the 9 percent and 4 percent LIHTCs and promoting income mixing at LIHTC properties.
“With nearly $100 billion in private capital leveraged since its inception, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program represents one of the most successful partnerships between the public and the private sectors,” said Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, managing partner in the firm’s San Francisco office and the LIHTC Working Group’s adviser on industry and governmental affairs. “The LIHTC Working Group stands ready to work with lawmakers to help ensure that the LIHTC program can continue making quality affordable housing for the individuals and families who need it the most.”
For details and a copy of the letter, please go to http://www.lihtcworkinggroup.com. The LIHTC Working Group was established by Novogradac & Company LLP in 2008 to provide a platform for LIHTC industry participants to work together to resolve technical and administrative LIHTC program issues.
Members meet monthly via conference call to provide input regarding pending action items as agreed to by the members of the group. Comments and suggestions generated during the group discussions are agreed to and submitted in writing directly to Treasury, Congress, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or various state agencies. For more information, visit http://www.lihtcworkinggroup.com or email lwg(at)novoco.com.
Novogradac began operations in 1989, and the allied group of Novogradac companies has since grown to more than 500 employees and partners with offices in San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Long Beach, Calif.; the Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Ga., Detroit, Mich., Kansas City, Mo. and Seattle, Wash. metro areas; St. Louis, Mo., Boston, Mass.; Austin, Texas; Dover, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; New York, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; Chicago, Ill.; and Naples, Fla. Specialty practice areas include tax, audit and consulting services for tax-credits-assisted multifamily and affordable housing, community revitalization and rehabilitation of historic properties. Other areas of expertise include military base redevelopment, preparation and analysis of market studies and appraisals of multifamily housing investments and renewable energy tax credits.