Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits Volume 12 Issue 2

Abridged version of the February 2021 issue of the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits. For more content, please subscribe to the Journal.
Articles
Preservation as an economic development tool has often been cited in this and other journals as an important means of urban and rural redevelopment. Cultural heritage tourism and the recognition of underserved communities’ contributions to America’s history and culture are twin drivers of the appreciation of space with linkages to these drivers. The combination of these two phenomena have ushered in a renaissance of African American historic preservation placemaking.
National Equity Fund (NEF), an industry-leading syndicator of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), launched the $100 million Emerging Minority Developers Fund in late 2020 to assist minority-led affordable housing developers.
The Sorenson Impact Center was an early advocate of the opportunity zones (OZ) incentive and for good reason. Like many others, the Center saw it as a means to drive impact capital into historically underserved and overlooked communities.
The concept of social impact has been around for decades, but national and global events of the past few years prompted organizations to take a closer look at how they can effect positive change for their stakeholders and communities. Amy Hook, Novogradac’s chief social impact officer, says that for both community and economic purposes, this is a crucial time for businesses to evaluate their social impact, which she defines as the positive or negative effects a company has on the planet and people.
The Jan. 5 election of Georgia’s Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff to the U.S. Senate gave the Democratic Party control of the Senate, House of Representatives and the White House–a dramatic final chapter of a tumultuous, bitter election.
News Briefs
Legislation introduced Dec. 2, 2020, in the House of Representatives would limit the ability of high-income taxpayers to benefit from tax deductions through syndicated conservation easement transactions–while providing a different timeline than a similar bill in the Senate when it comes to preserving historic buildings.
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced Dec. 9, 2020, that 208 community development entities applied for new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocation authority under the calendar year (CY) 2020 round.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Notice 2020-88 in the Dec. 28, 2020, Internal Revenue Bulletin. In Notice 2020-88, the IRS says that $2.04 billion in credits are available for reallocation under the Section 48A Qualifying Advanced Coal Project program.
President Joe Biden Dec. 10, 2020, nominated Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to be the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) released a notice Dec. 24, 2020, to notify property owners, management companies and issuers of tax-exempt bonds for low-income housing and other related parties that annual compliance reporting for the 2020 reporting period was temporarily suspended.