General News

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran of Mississippi recently introduced legislation that would extend the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) bonus tax credit, which has been an integral tool in attracting investment to the Gulf Coast after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced in Revenue Procedure 2009-50 the inflation-adjusted low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and private activity bond caps for 2010.

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund recently announced approximately $5 billion in funding to 90 organizations through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, including approximately $1.5 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Federal Reserve Board recently released a collection of articles from LIHTC practitioners and experts that focuses on possible opportunities to strengthen the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.

The US Treasury Department has denied a request from Fannie Mae to transfer nearly $3 billion of the equity interests in its low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investments to third-party investors Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The Arizona Department of Housing recently released the first draft of its 2010 qualified allocation plan (QAP), used to administer the federal low-income housing tax credit program through ADOH. A number of significant changes are proposed for the 2010 draft.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee recently released its 2009 applications for 4% and 9% tax credit exchange and gap financing.

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority has released a draft version of its 2010 qualified allocation plan (QAP). The document, used to govern the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, includes the state’s tax credit allocation process, underwriting and scoring criteria, energy efficiency requirements, fee schedules and other program requirements.

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority recently published its new Green Communities Criteria and Certification Form. Beginning in 2010, to be eligible for LIHTC through CHFA, a project must comply with all of the mandatory provisions of the Green Communities criteria.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research website, HUD USER recently released a comprehensive housing market analysis report for the Austin-Round Rock, Texas market area.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan recently called on Congress to approve three proposed measures to improve housing markets and provide better housing options for Americans.

With its announcement of $284 million in funding for California, the U.S. Treasury Department has allocated over $3 billion to states through the Section 1602 Tax Credit Exchange Program, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.