WASHINGTON— The New Markets Tax Credit Coalition today released its 2017 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Progress Report the thirteenth edition of the report—providing a survey of NMTC activities in 2016. As in the past, the report documents the flexibility and impact of the NMTC in meeting the needs of the distressed communities where it is deployed and helping to create jobs and grow business opportunities, from more traditional industry and community sectors to new and cutting-edge technology. Projects which benefitted from the Credit in the past year include rural and urban incubators, small business loan funds, main street tourism, health clinics, manufacturing, schools and even robotics.
The State of Indiana, acting through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, awarded the ARC of Indiana with a $5 million grant to construct and equip the Training Institute. Cinnaire invested $11 million in NMTC investments, which was combined with $7.6 million of fundraising and $20.8 million in proceeds from a bank line of credit to make up the $31.8 million needed to fund development costs. The line of credit was secured by a commitment from the City of Muncie to issue up to $30 million of general obligation bonds as a take-out source for construction financing. Projections estimate an additional $17.6 million in donations, which will be used to reduce the City Bond balance to a level which can be serviced through operations of the hotel, restaurant, and training facility, or refinanced based on projected operating cash flow.
The hotel is projected to save Indiana $4.5 million in public assistance for every 200 individuals that become employed over 4.5 years. It sets the standard for future development of similar projects, and generates new revenue through property taxes and an increase in convention and tourism. Erskine Green Training Institute is a model that demonstrates the benefits of leveraging private and public investments.
The report was prepared for the NMTC Coalition, a national membership organization of Community Development Entities (CDEs) and investors organized to advocate on behalf of the NMTC. Every year since 2005, the NMTC Coalition surveys CDEs on their work delivering billions of dollars to businesses, creating jobs, and rejuvenating the parts of the country that have been left behind. The annual NMTC Progress Report presents the findings of the CDE survey and provides policymakers and practitioners with the latest trends and successes of the NMTC.
“The Coalition’s annual survey asks CDEs to report on the deployment of their allocation, investor trends, and a variety of community impact metrics,” said Coalition spokesperson Bob Rapoza. “The findings clearly demonstrate that the NMTC continues to deliver capital to the communities left behind by the changing economy, with 76 percent of projects in severely distressed communities in the last year—far exceeding statutory requirements. Moreover, the program is delivering a significant ‘bang for the buck’ for taxpayers in terms of the jobs, amenities, community facilities, and tax revenue it generates.”
Eighty-seven CDEs participated in the 2017 survey and provided data on their progress raising capital, lending, and investing in 2016 with the NMTC. Survey participants ranged from large, mission-driven national nonprofits to locally-focused community development organizations. The survey findings show that competition for credits continues to drive gains in efficiency. The data collected shows that CDEs used $1.8 billion in NMTC allocation in 2016 to financed 171 NMTC projects, amounting to $3 billion in total project costs, which created over 36,000 jobs in areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment.
“When Congress enacted the NMTC back in 2000, the purpose of the program was simple: to deliver private sector investment to low income communities,” added Rapoza. “Nearly two decades later, the NMTC has unleashed an unprecedented amount of investment in areas struggling with high unemployment and poverty, but more than that, it has created economic opportunity in every corner of the nation.”
For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s NMTC at Work in Communities report or check out its Project Profile Map.
Download a copy of the report at www.nmtccoalition.org.
About New Markets Tax Credit Program
The New Markets Tax Credit was enacted in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low income urban neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to the patient capital needed to support and grow businesses, create jobs, and sustain healthy local economies. The NMTC is a 39 percent federal tax credit, taken over seven years, on investments made in economically distressed communities. Today due to NMTC, more than $75 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.NMTCCoalition.org.
