May 21, 2010
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 As the House prepares to take up the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, H.R. 4213, we ask that you contact your members to alert them to the important affordable housing provisions this bill contains: 

  • A one-year extension, through 2010, of the Housing Credit Exchange program;
  • A two-year extension, through 2012, of the placed-in-service date for properties financed with GO Zone Credits; and
  •  $1 billion in funding for a one-time capitalization of the National Housing Trust Fund and $65 million for project-based vouchers to support Trust-financed properties.  The bill does not make changes to the Trust Fund itself but does clarify that Trust properties are subject to HOME’s environmental review requirements. 
 
Unfortunately, the bill does not include other critical housing provisions that NCSHA sought, such as the disaster and 4 percent Credit Exchange provisions, an investor carry-back provision, and incentives for individual investors.  We will continue to look for opportunities to advance these priorities in future tax bills, as it appears now that both houses are committed to passing this bill without amendment. 
 
At this writing, passage by either house is not assured, which is why it’s so important that your members are aware of the bill’s housing provisions as they consider their vote. 
 
In addition to the key housing provisions noted above and described in our blog post yesterday, the bill also includes:
 
  •  A two-year extension, through 2012, of the Build America Bonds (BABs) program.  For BABs issued in 2012, the amount of the direct payment would be reduced to 30 percent of the coupon interest.  Issuers may issue BABs to effect a current refunding of outstanding BABs to save money if interest rates fall in the future.
  • Exemption from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for tax-exempt private activity bonds issued in 2011 and current refunding of private activity bonds issued after 2003 and refunded during 2011.
  • A one-year extension, through 2010, of a provision that allows states to waive certain rules that limit their ability to use tax-exempt housing bonds to provide loans to people that wish to acquire residences in federally declared disaster areas.
  • Exemption from the private activity bond volume cap for bonds financing water and sewage facilities.  Bonds financing water and sewage facilities are also exempted from certain limitations on tribal government issuances.
  • A one-year extension, through 2010, of the New Market Tax Credits (NMTC), with a maximum annual amount of qualified equity investments of $5 billion, and allowance for NMTC to be claimed against the AMT with respect to qualified investments made between March 15, 2010 and January 1, 2012.