Kaitlyn Snyder Author Archives

September is always a busy month in DC, but this year is shaping up to be exceptionally so.

Originally authorized by Congress as a part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, authorization for the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) once again runs out at the end of 2020. The program was initially authorized for five years and has been kept alive by several short-term renewals, which speaks more to Congress’s desire and ability to get anything done than it does to the effectiveness of the program. As we celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary and stare down the barrel of yet another nerve-wracking, year-end reauthorization, we thought it timely to examine the program through both retro- and prospective lenses.

On April 29, 2016, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation designating May 2016 as Older Americans month. Shortly thereafter, the White House held a meeting with affordable housing and senior advocates to celebrate the proclamation and consider what else the Obama administration could do to make housing more affordable for seniors.

Before the emergence of the Coronavirus advocates for the federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, known as the Historic Tax Credit (HTC), were seeking several important legislative changes. HTC developments, like many other construction-related tax credits, have struggled during COVID-19 due to statutory and regulatory deadlines, decreased investor appetite and construction delays, adding new reforms to the wish list and making others now more important than ever.

In response to the myriad of presidential tweets, op-eds and administration actions, we thought it was time to set the record straight on fair housing. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing was enshrined into law in the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968. We, as a country and as a government, have yet to live up to the ideals of that law’s provision, despite our unchanged obligation to do so.

Coming into a presidential election year, we knew the outlook for advancing legislation was dismal. Then the Coronavirus stole lives and shuttered businesses across the nation. Then Ahmaud Arbery was murdered by vigilantes while jogging, Breonna Taylor was shot eight times by officers in the middle of the night in her own home, an officer choked George Floyd to death with his knee amidst cries of “I can’t breathe” while three other officers watched, and Rayshard Brooks was shot by police for falling asleep in his car. Legislatively, where do we go from here in the waning months of 2020?

House Democrats have unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) and summary.

Editor’s Note: To help NH&RA members and their residents through the COVID-19 crisis, we have been collecting information from numerous sources on responses by governments, housing agencies, companies and professional associations. We will run this feature in each issue, as long as the crisis persists.

Across the country, affordable housing developers are turning to private activity bonds (PABs) and four percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC or credit) to finance their affordable housing transactions since the nine percent LIHTC remains persistently oversubscribed.

When asked about the December 19, 2019 final Opportunity Zone regulations, Jerome Breed, principal with Miles and Stockbridge P.C., said, “The IRS and Treasury did an excellent job with the final regulations. Of course, if I drafted the rules, I’d be happy with all of them.” John Gahan, partner with Sullivan and Worcester LLP, echoed the sentiment, “We as lawyers would never be completely happy with any set of rules.

In case you haven’t already noticed, this issue of Tax Credit Advisor clearly demonstrates that the 50 states and the District of Columbia are at the vanguard of developing innovative housing solutions.

There was a flurry of activity last month from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) around its new National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) demonstration.