Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits Volume 8 Issue 3
Articles
The Sibley Building in Rochester, N.Y.–once the largest department store between New York City and Chicago–is being reborn as Sibley Square. Boston-based WinnDevelopment is renovating the 1-million-square-foot property with a variety of financial sources, including equity from low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), new markets tax credits (NMTCs) and federal and state historic tax credits (HTCs).
It could have taken 20 years for Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) to finance the renovation of Bohn Tower in downtown Cleveland. Instead, it will only take one. Through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, Bohn Tower converted its 266 apartments from public housing to project-based rental assistance and leveraged low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to give the property a complete makeover.
The renovation of the former Buffalo Milk Company building is another example of the rebirth of Buffalo, N.Y., a city that lost half its population in the past 50 years but is experiencing growth thanks to state and federal investment and–in the case of this building–historic tax credit (HTC) and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity.
Question: What changes were made to Community Investment Impact System (CIIS) reporting with respect to jobs data with the release of version 14.0?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2016-29 and Notice 2016-77 Dec. 12, 2016. The two have important similarities in addition to being released at the same time, as well as a few noteworthy differences.
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News Briefs
In early February, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue issued Publication 123, which provides information about the expiration or carryforward of Wisconsin tax incentives for taxable years beginning in 2016. The tax incentives include the community rehabilitation program credit, development zones credits, economic development tax credit, enterprise zone jobs credit, jobs tax credit and supplement to federal historic rehabilitation tax credit (HTC). The tax incentives may be available to corporations, tax-option (S) corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and sole proprietorships doing business in Wisconsin. The information in the publication reflects the position of the department concerning laws enacted by the Wisconsin Legislature effective Dec. 31, 2016.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announced Jan. 25 revised policy changes for its move-in tenant income certification (TIC) signature dates. Owners can have tenants sign recertification TICs on or up to 120 days after the household’s move-in date. The revised policy affects all developments in initial lease-up and those that have completed their lease-up. Effective Jan. 1, program compliance no longer allows the move-in TIC to be signed in advance. The TIC signature and effective date must be same as the date of move-in. This revised policy does not apply to recertification TICs. A second policy change concerns the utility allowance policy: OHFA will no longer accept consumption-based methodology utility allowance requests. OHFA will allow for a waiver to this policy change for owners who submitted a consumption-based utility allowance request from Jan. 1, 2016, to June 30, 2016, and were approved to use that allowance. Owners of these developments will be able to request a one-time consumption-based utility allowance upon annual renewal.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in the Federal Register Jan. 13 that its assessment tool for public housing agencies (PHAs) to assess fair housing under affirmatively furthering fair housing was reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The announcement says PHAs are not yet required to conduct and submit an assessment. HUD also announced that the OMB approved its request to renew for approval its tool to assess fair housing for local governments that receive Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grants or Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS formula funding from HUD. Both notices are available at www.taxcredithousing.com.
The Native Nations Institute Feb. 1 released the report, “Access to Capital and Credit in Native Communities” and a supplemental data review. Information included in the documents focused on the status of access to capital and credit in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities. Specifically, the data describes access to capital and credit for Native consumers, Native business owners and tribal communities and governments. The two-part study is intended to provide research and analysis in support of improving access to capital and credit in Native communities. The data review concludes that Native-controlled community development entities (CDEs) were underrepresented among both applicants and recipients of new markets tax credit (NMTC) awards. Native Nations Institute points out that the success rate of Native CDEs that applied for the credits was lower than that of non-Native CDEs. The report said that the NMTC program has been less available to native CDFIs than the industry hoped. Both documents are available at www.newmarketscredits.com.
The chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) issued a letter Jan. 30 to the chairman and the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, highlighting the success of the federal historic tax credit (HTC) and requesting that the committee consider the “effectiveness, value and reach” of the HTC during tax reform discussions. Milford Wayne Donaldson’s letter to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., also included statistical highlights of the HTC program since 1976. The ACHP is an independent federal agency that advises the president and Congress on matters related to historic preservation. The letter is available at www.historictaxcredits.com.