Cummings Lauds Obama Administration for Allocating More Than $250 Million in Tax Credits to Baltimore-Area Community Development Organizations

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 17, 2016)— Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) lauded the Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for providing four organizations in his district $275 million in tax credits.  The tax credits were awarded under the New Markets Tax Credit Program to Harbor Bankshares Corporation and Urban Action Community Development, LLC, both in Baltimore, Urban Research Park CDE, LLC in Hunt Valley, and ESIC New Markets Partners LC in Columbia.

“I applaud the Obama Administration for awarding tax credits to these organizations so they can invest in jobs, community facilities and affordable housing for struggling families in Maryland and throughout the country,” Cummings said. 

The New Markets Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits 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). 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. The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities.
 
CDEs must apply annually to the CDFI Fund to compete for New Markets Tax Credit Program allocation authority. The 120 organizations receiving awards nationally were selected from a pool of 238 applicants that requested approximately $17.6 billion in allocation authority.