Menendez, Booker Applaud $170M in Tax Credits to Community Development Orgs Investing in NJ

WASHINGTON, DC – June 19, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced that the Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, Inc., CCG Partners, LLC, and the Reinvestment Fund, Inc. have been awarded a total of $170 million through the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC) to attract private investment and spur economic activity in low income communities throughout the state. This federal tax credit helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible.

“New Markets Tax Credits are designed to attract private sector investment in our distressed communities by creating a mutual benefit for both the investor and the community,” said Sen. Menendez. “I have long been a supporter of public-private partnerships like this because they work. Since its creation, the program has been successful in its mission to encourage investment across New Jersey and the nation. The New Markets Tax Credit is simply the seed money for growth and prosperity.”

“As a former Mayor I know firsthand that public-private partnerships are an essential component to job creation and development in low and moderate income communities,” said Sen. Booker. “The New Markets Tax Credits announced today will spur investments and incentivize development in distressed communities in NJ and throughout the nation.”

The specific awards to community development organizations making significant investments in New Jersey are:

CCG Community Partners, LLC $55,000,000
Princeton, N.J.
Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, Inc. $50,000,000
New Brunswick, N.J.
Reinvestment Fund, Inc. $65,000,000
Philadelphia, Pa.
This year, the CDFI Fund is awarding $3.512 billion in NMTCs to 76 organizations in 27 different states and the District of Columbia to support investments across the nation. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, for every dollar invested by the federal government, the NMTC program generates over $8 of private investment.

Investments through the NMTC program, established by Congress in December 2000, have created nearly 600,000 new jobs and supported the construction of more than 160 million square feet of retail, manufacturing, and office space. As the communities benefitting from these investments develop, they become more attractive to investors, creating a ripple effect that spurs more investment.

The NMTC program allows individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-refundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities.

CDEs that receive the tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling in low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period.

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