The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report in late January on the New Markets Tax Credit Program entitled, “Credit Helps Fund a Variety of Projects in Low-Income Communities, but Could Be Simplified.” In the report, GAO describes where and how community development entities (CDE) are using NMTCs to finance development in low-income communities and describes options for simplifying the NMTC program. The report also assesses how effective IRS and the CDFI Fund have been in monitoring NMTC compliance. GAO analyzed CDFI Fund and CDE data, did case studies of CDEs, and interviewed relevant experts. GAO further recommends that the CDFI Fund collect additional data on program performance and improve project-level data.
NH&RA’s New Markets Tax Credit Steering Committee will be joined by Donna Gambrell of the CDFI Fund and Michael Brostek of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a working session in conjunction with the 2010 New Markets Tax Credit Symposium, March 10 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in South Beach, Miami. During the working session, the Committee will raise several topics of concern with regards to the recent GAO report, as well as provide recommendations for regulatory fixes and other potential improvements to the NMTC program.
