Congress

NH&RA is pleased to offer the PowerPoint Presentations from our recent 2011 Annual Meeting & New Markets Tax Credit Symposium, which was held February 22-26 at the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Fla. In addition, we have included additional conference materials, relevant articles, reports, memos, etc. under the relevant session titles.

On February 17, the House of Representatives and the Senate both passed H.R. 3630, which will provide an extension of the payroll tax holiday, unemployment benefits and restored Medicare reimbursement rate provisions. Noticeably absent from the deal is an extension to the New Markets Tax Credit tax provisions, which expired in December 2011.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on February 22 released the Obama Administration’s framework for corporate tax reform. Among other things, it calls for making the renewable energy production tax credit permanent and refundable.

A new report released by the National Trust for Historic Preservation has found a very low rate of recapture of federal historic rehabilitation tax credits claimed over the past 10 years in historic rehab transactions.

Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013 contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President’s priorities, budget overviews organized by agency, and summary tables.

Senators John Rockefeller (D-WV), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) released a proposed amendment to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ (D-MT) proposed mark of the Highway Investment, Job Creation and Economic Growth Act of 2012. The amendment seeks to extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) for one year through December 31, 2012 at a level of $5,000,000,000.

In a preview of the Administration’s FY-2013 Budget (to be released on February 13), the Obama Administration has announced as part of its “Plan to Help Responsible Homeowners and Heal the Housing Market” that his budget will call for $1 billion to capitalize the federal rental housing trust fund.

House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-Mich) has indicated that he will reintroduce legislation to tax carried interest compensation at the same ordinary income tax rates.

On February 2, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced S. 2064, the Energy Freedom and Economic Prosperity Act (EFEPA), which would repeal all energy specific tax credits.

On Tuesday, February 7, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity approved the Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Improvement Act (AHISSA) (currently unnumbered) by a voice vote. AHISSA is the most recent iteration of the Section Eight Savings Act (SESA) and the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA).

For the last month, Congress has considered an appropriations minibus, H.R. 2112, to incorporate Fiscal Year 2012 spending bills for the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related programs. On November 14, a House-Senate conference committee approved a compromise minibus measure in the form of a conference report.

For the past few weeks, the United States Senate has been considering an appropriations minibus, H.R. 2112, which includes the annual spending bills for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and multiple amendments therein. The Senate approved the legislation by a vote of 69 to 30 on Tuesday, November 1.