Boston—Thirty-two organizations will receive $1.5 billion in 2008 supplemental New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), announced Treasury Department officials today.
These credits were made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed earlier this year. The legislation authorized $1.5 billion for 2008 and another $1.5 billion for the 2009 allocation round.
"The Recovery Act was a crucial step toward restoring economic growth, getting Americans back to work, and strengthening our nation's financial stability," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "Many communities have been left with a shortfall of financial support and are unable to pursue desperately needed projects, leaving residents to fall even further behind. The New Markets Tax Credit program helps break that cycle by providing an incentive to invest in communities to break ground on new projects, create jobs, and offer much needed services."
The announcement was made at Project Hope, a NMTC project that provides adult education, job placement, and career development services in Boston.
Only applicants who had applied for credits last year were eligible for the additional 2008 credits.
The NMTC program aims to inject private-sector capital into low-income communities across the nation. The program allows individuals and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against their federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit provided to an investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over seven years. A majority of the investment must be used by the CDE to make qualified investments in the low-income communities.
Enterprise received the round’s single-largest award of $95 million. A full list of the recipients can be found at www.cdfifund.gov.
