Treasury Department

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report on Opportunity Zones (OZ’s), which calls on Congress to consider providing Treasury with authority and responsibility to collect data and report on OZ’s performance.

The jockeying for cabinet and leadership positions within a Biden administration is well underway. We’ll keep a running list of names that are rumored to be in consideration, but note that this list already is out-of-date the second it is published, and that NH&RA is not endorsing any potential candidate, but rather relaying the potential candidates that we’re aware of.

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual roundtable at 3:00 pm ET on September 3 on Dismantling Barriers to Housing for America’s Seniors and People with Disabilities.

Over the weekend, President Trump issued three COVID-19 related executive orders (EO) on “Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations,” “Providing Assistance to Renters and Homeowners” and “Other Needs Assistance Program.” The presidential action comes as Congressional and White House negotiations over the next COVID-19 aid package have stalled.

Congratulations to the NH&RA members that received a New Markets Tax Credit award National Trust Community Investment Corporation, PNC Community Partners, Inc., RBC Community Development, LLC, The Rose Urban Green Fund and USBCDE, LLC.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding round for the Capital Magnet Fund. The application process consists of two parts: submitting the SF-424 Mandatory form through Grants.gov and submitting the rest of the application through the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS). 

Following President Trump’s emergency declaration pursuant to the Stafford Act, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued guidance allowing all individual and other non-corporate tax filers to defer up to $1 million of federal income tax (including self-employment tax) payments due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have reportedly reached an agreement on nearly $2 trillion emergency relief package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which contains:

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the final versions of Form 8996 – Qualified Opportunity Funds, 8996 instructions and Form 8997 – Initial and Annual Statement of Qualified Opportunity Fund Investments.

The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched an internal investigation on abuse in the Opportunity Zone program. Rich Delmar, the department’s acting inspector general, said in a statement he expects “to complete our work and respond to the congressional requesters in early spring.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final (and proposed) regulations on the Opportunity Zones (OZ) tax incentive. The regulations modify and finalize the two previous proposed regulations that were issued in October 2018 and April 2019. The Treasury notes that “the final rules provide clarity for Opportunity Funds and their eligible subsidiaries in determining qualification and levels of new investment in Opportunity Zones.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released a Summary Report and data collected on New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investments across the nation through fiscal year (FY) 2017. Nearly 70 percent of NMTC investments made through 2017 have been concentrated in single/mixed-use real estate, health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and educational services.