The
Department of Housing and Urban Development has played an integral
role in the planning, development, implementation and ongoing success
of the Renewal Communities and Empowerment Zones. When this Initiative
was first announced in 1994, HUD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) were named as joint lead implementing agencies. HUD would
administer the urban part of the Initiative, while USDA would administer
the rural portion of the program. In December 2001, however, HUD
became involved heavily in the rural portion also when the Department
designed 12 of 40 Renewal Communities in rural areas.
As
a lead implementing agency, HUD offers technical assistance on revitalization
strategies with the RC and EZ designees. In May 2002 and in the
spring and fall of 2003, HUD's Office of Community Renewal helped
to host six national technical assistance workshops for representatives
of the nation's Renewal Communities and Empowerment Zones. Thousands
of representatives from more than 75 urban and rural communities
attended these workshops, together with U.S. Congressional leaders,
business owners, accountants, and local community development leaders.
HUD and RC/EZ representatives held dozens of seminars at these workshops
on the valuable tax incentives available to businesses in the RC/EZ
communities.
HUD
has also printed and distributed more than 100,000 copies of its
valuable Tax Incentive Guide for Businesses in the Renewal Communities
and Empowerment Zones to thousands of businesses and community leaders
nationwide. Readers can obtain a free hard copy by calling 800-998-9999.
HUD's
Office of Community Renewal also provides technical assistance to
the RC/EZ directors through satellite broadcasts and monthly teleconference
calls. Representatives of different federal agencies, including
the Department of Treasury, IRS, and the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund have joined these monthly calls to provide valuable
information on technical and financial assistance available to the
distressed RC/EZ areas.
HUD
also operates the Enterprise Geographic Information System Address
Locator on its web site, which has become a remarkably popular tool
among the 60,000 - 90,000 businesses and agencies who use it each
month. This Locator allows businesses to determine if any street
address is located in an RC or EZ. Since businesses are eligible
for valuable tax incentives if they are located in these areas or
hire employees who live in these areas, the Address Locator is critical
to the 300,000 businesses located in the nation's Renewal Communities
and Empowerment Zones. These tax incentives are worth approximately
$11 billion and consist of employment credits, work opportunity
tax credits, commercial revitalization deductions, tax-exempt bond
financing, capital gains exclusions, and many other incentives.
Be sure to visit this Address Locator at www.hud.gov/crlocator.
HUD's
Office of Community Renewal also monitors and evaluates the performance
of the RC/EZs using its Internet-based performance measurement system
(PERMS). The RC/EZ designees use PERMS to document the projects
and programs they are implementing to achieve their local strategic
plans and courses of action and they use the system each year also
to submit their annual reports to HUD. PERMS not only cuts down
on the paperwork burden facing the designees, but it also provides
HUD with a low-cost mechanism for continually monitoring the progress
of each designee. To review these projects within the annual reports
that each RC and EZ designee has submitted to HUD, please visit
http://www5.hud.gov/urban/perms/perms.asp
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