Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. Proposes LIHTC Changes

Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N., a national coalition of organizations supporting affordable housing, has called for congressional support for proposals to offset the adverse effects to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) caused by the financial crisis. LIHTC investment dropped from $9 billion in 2007 to $5.5 billion in 2008 and is expected to drop even more in 2009. Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. has three proposals that they recommend to generate additional LIHTC investment:

•  First, Congress should extend the Housing Credit exchange program for one more year and allow states to exchange Housing Credits generated from tax-exempt bond financed housing.
• Second, to stimulate and restore long-term investment, Congress should increase the Housing Credit carry-back to up to five years in two ways:
  • For existing housing investments, this proposal would only apply to Housing Credits if investors reinvest the entire amount carried back into new Housing Credit investments.
  • For new housing investments, this proposal would make the Housing Credit more competitive with other tax credits and attract investors concerned about long-term tax position by permitting future credits to be carried back up to five years.
• Third, broaden the investment base by permitting pass-through entities - LLCs and Subchapter S corporations - and closely held corporations to utilize the Housing Credit program as a means of attracting equity capital to rural areas of the country. This would diversify the investor base to include entities such as S-corps community banks.

Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. estimates that a failure to address reduced LIHTC investments could result in the loss of 60,000 new affordable apartments and 90,000 construction jobs annually. However, they estimate that if the above proposals are adopted it would increase LIHTC investment by at least $5 billion through 2011, create 123,000 more affordable apartments, and create or save 232,000 jobs. They also estimate that this will generate $50 billion in additional income and $ 8 billion in revenue to localities across the nation.

For more information or a state-by-state breakdown of their proposals, visit their website:

http://www.rentalhousingaction.org/en