President Trump signed an executive order creating the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. The council, led by HUD Secretary Carson, spans 13 federal agencies with the intent of prioritizing opportunity zones in a variety of federal efforts, including grant funding, loan guarantees, infrastructure spending and crime prevention.
Federal / Agency News Category Archives
RAD Notice: Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Requirements Not Triggered
A new Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) notice from HUD amends the previous final notice by stating that “that execution of a Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) contract as a result of the conversion of Rent Supp, RAP, Mod Rehab, or Mod Rehab SRO contracts through RAD after the publication of this notice does not trigger Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements.”
Read MoreChairman Brady Introduces New Year-End Tax Bill
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced a new year-end tax relief package. The bill includes the same provision in his original bill that clarifies that veterans are a specified group for preferences within the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and extends the LIHTC public use provisions from nine percent allocations to also include four percent bond allocations.
Read MorePresident Trump Announces Nomination of Mark Calabria as FHFA Director
The White House announced its intent to nominate Mark Calabria to take over as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) following the departure of current FHFA director Mel Watt on Jan. 4, 2019.
Read MoreRural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program
The U.S. Department of the Agriculture though the Rural Utilities Service is accepting applications for the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program. Loans will be made available for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment that will provide service at the Broadband Lending Speed in eligible rural areas with loans ranging from $100,000 to $25 million.
Read MoreHUD published 2019 Utility Allowance Factors (UAFs)
HUD published the Utility Allowance Adjustment Factors (UAFs) for 2019 which will be effective on Feb. 11, 2019. Compared to 2018 UAFs, oil increased by 3.35 percent, natural gas increased by 12.62 percent, electric increased by 3.61 percent and water, trash and sewer increased by 0.09 percent nationwide.
Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduces Bill to Expand Opportunity Zones
On November 15, Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the “Hurricanes Florence and Michael and California Wildfire Tax Relief Act” (S. 3648). The bill, in addition to providing tax relief for victims of the natural disasters like an employment credit and tax-favored withdrawals from retirement plans, would designate all of the applicable disaster zones as an Opportunity Zones.
Read MoreIRS Publishes 2019 Revenue Procedure for LIHTC, PAB
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published the 2019 state caps for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and Private Activity Bonds (PAB) in Revenue Procedure 2018-57. The LIHTC is the greater of $2.75625 times the state population or a minimum of $3,166,875. The PAB volume cap is the greater of $105 times the state population or a minimum of $316,745,000.
Treasury Releases Priority Guidance Plan
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released its 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan. Part one covers implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Notably, the first item in this section is issuing regulations for LIHTC income averaging. The plan also includes issuing regulations for utility allowances under the LIHTC, clarification and revision of certain NMTC rules and a revenue procedure concerning the use of the HTC in disaster relief.
Shutdown Countdown
Funding for the federal government was scheduled to run out on Friday, Dec. 7. On Thursday, Dec. 6 Congress passed a short term continuing resolution that funds the remaining seven appropriations subcommittee bills through Dec. 21. President Trump signed the bill on Friday, Dec. 7.
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