FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

May 21, 2004
JS-1677

Officials from Treasury and Agriculture Departments Present $61.7 million in Economic Development Tax Credits in Iowa to Help Low-Income Communities

Director of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, Arthur A. Garcia, and Senior Advisor to the Agriculture Department Secretary, Thomas C. Dorr, today presented $61.7 million in New Market Tax Credits for business and economic development in low-income communities. The award was presented to Rural Development Partners, LLC at the BECON Energy Conversion Center in Nevada, Iowa.

The Treasury Department announced on May 6 that 62 organizations have been selected to receive a total of $3.5 billion in tax credit allocations through the second round of the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Program.

The New Market Tax Credit program attracts private-sector capital investment into urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic opportunity and create jobs in the areas that need it most. The NMTC Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). Substantially all of the taxpayer's investment must in turn be used by the CDE to make qualified investments supporting certain business activities in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the initial value of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period. The 62 organizations receiving tax credit allocations this year were selected through a competitive application and rigorous review process.

The NMTC Program is administered by Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The CDFI Fund anticipates that applications for the third round of the NMTC Program will be available during the summer of 2004. A complete list of 2004 New Markets recipients and additional information can be found on the CDFI Fund's Web site: www.cdfifund.gov.

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