Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits Volume 8 Issue 10
Articles
“There are wild inefficiencies in solar financing that leave too many high-quality, small-scale developments on the sidelines,” said Alex Tiller, who joined investment firm Foss & Company’s Denver office in August. Tiller intends to address those market inefficiencies in his new role as managing director of the recently launched Foss Renewable Energy Partners tax equity fund.
There was no guarantee it would work, but two years after the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) started a pioneering use of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, HACEP reached a major milestone.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Sept. 1 issued fair market rents (FMRs) for HUD fiscal year (FY) 2018, which will be effective Oct. 1, unless HUD receives a request for re-evaluation of specific area FMRs. FMRs in FY 2018 increased for the majority of the country–FY 2018 FMRs are higher than FY 2017 FMRs for approximately 76 percent of counties and are lower for approximately 22 percent of counties. The average change in FMR is an increase of approximately 3 percent.
Question: What can community development entities (CDEs) do to help prepare for the next new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocation application?
Time is money and modular housing construction can save on both.
Not surprisingly, housing providers are taking a second look at modular building as a time- and cost-efficient way to address the national affordable housing shortage.
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News Briefs
Illinois Senate Bill 652 was enrolled Aug. 25. The bill amends the state’s New Markets Development program, increasing the annual cap by $30 million to $50 million. The bill also provides that, to be considered a “qualified equity investment,” 100 percent of the cash purchase price of the investment must be used by the issuer to make qualified low-income community investments in Illinois. Previously, the requirement was 85 percent. In addition, S.B. 625 requires qualified community development entities to submit an annual job creation report and provides that the application for certification as a qualified community development entity must include the amount of qualified equity investment authority the applicant agrees to designate as a federal qualified equity investment under Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code. Senate Bill 625 is available at www.newmarketscredits.com.
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Aug. 7 that Dan Brouillette was sworn in as deputy secretary. Brouillette was recently the senior vice president and head of public policy for the United States Automobile Association (USAA), the provider of financial services to the military community. Before joining USAA, Brouillette was a vice president of Ford Motor Company. Before that, he held positions such as chief of staff to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and also served as assistant secretary of energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. In addition, Brouillette is a former state energy regulator and served as a member of the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board from 2013 to 2016.
The New York Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion Aug. 11 regarding whether a taxpayer’s building is located within a qualifying census tract for the state historic tax credit (HTC). The taxpayer began renovation work on a building that will be listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a certified historic structure. Following project approval by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the taxpayer’s lender/investor noted that the median family income for the specified census tract was higher than the median family income for New York state. As a result, the taxpayer’s lender/investor questioned the taxpayer’s eligibility for the credit for rehabilitation of historic properties and temporarily ceased renovations of the building until further guidance could be obtained. The advisory opinion issued Aug. 11 determined that the building is in a qualifying census tract for purposes of the tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic properties.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Aug. 11 a letter announcing the suspension of the ZIP code-based small-area fair market rent (FMR) designation for 23 of 24 metropolitan areas scheduled to begin using small-area FMRs in administration of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program Oct. 1. The letter said the decision was based on interim findings of a HUD demonstration, public comments and requests from public housing agencies for more guidance and technical assistance. The letter also stated small-area designation will be delayed until at least Oct. 1, 2019. The Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas, metro division, which has used small-area FMRs since 2011, is the only designation that remains in effect. Public housing agencies that wish to opt in to the small-area FMR formula can submit a written request to HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing. The letter is available at www.hudresourcecenter.com.
Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) announced Aug. 24 its new Compliance Connection blog. MHC replaced its semiannual Compliance Connection newsletter with this new blog. The blog can be accessed by going to MHC’s website and clicking on the “Compliance Connection” logo.