Recently Expired Community Assistance
Related Tax Provisions (“Tax Extenders”):
In Brief
Sean Lowry
Analyst in Public Finance
May 22, 2014
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43541
Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
New Markets Tax Credit .................................................................................................................. 1
Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives ................................................................................................ 3
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds—Allocation of Bond Limitation ................................................. 4
American Samoa Economic Development Credit ........................................................................... 6
Contacts
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 7
Congressional Research Service
Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
Introduction
On April 3, 2014, the Senate Finance Committee passed the Expiring Provisions Improvement
Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act (S. 2260), which would extend most expired and soon-to-
expire tax provisions through 2015. Subsequently, the House Ways and Means Committee
considered proposals to make permanent certain expired provisions and could reauthorize
additional provisions. These and other tax provisions that are regularly extended for one or two
years are often referred to as “tax extenders.”
This report briefly summarizes four community assistance-related tax provisions included in the
EXPIRE Act, which are (1) the New Markets Tax Credit, (2) Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives,
(3) allocation of bond limitations for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, and (4) the American
Samoa Economic Development Credit. The EXPIRE Act would extend each of these provisions
for two years (through 2015).1 A discussion of their economic impact and related extension bills
in the 113th Congress is also included.
CRS Report R43449, Recently Expired Housing Related Tax Provisions (“Tax Extenders”): In
Brief, by Mark P. Keightley, contains analysis of the low-income housing tax credit (LITHC),
which could also be used to encourage economic development in certain communities. For CRS
coverage of other tax extenders, see
• CRS Report R43124, Expired and Expiring Temporary Tax Provisions (“Tax
Extenders”), by Molly F. Sherlock;
• CRS Report R43510, Selected Recently Expired Business Tax Provisions (“Tax
Extenders”), by Jane G. Gravelle, Donald J. Marples, and Molly F. Sherlock; and
• CRS Report R43517, Recently Expired Charitable Tax Provisions (“Tax
Extenders”): In Brief, by Jane G. Gravelle and Molly F. Sherlock.
New Markets Tax Credit2
The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was enacted by the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of
2000 (P.L. 106-554) to encourage investors to make investments in low-income communities
(LICs) that traditionally lack access to capital. The NMTC is a competitively awarded tax credit
overseen by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, organized within
the Department of the Treasury. For each NMTC round authorized by Congress, the CDFI Fund
ranks all requests for NMTC allocation authority and grants awards to those CDEs that score
highest. A CDE is a domestic corporation or partnership that is an intermediary vehicle for the
provision of loans, investments, or financial counseling in LICs.3 All taxable investors are eligible
to receive the NMTC, such as banks, venture capital firms, and other private investors.
1 None of the four community assistance provisions discussed in this report were included for extension in the House
Way and Means comprehensive tax reform discussion draft (i.e., the “Tax Reform Act of 2014”) released in February
2014. See U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, Tax Reform Act of 2014 Discussion Draft, Section-
by-Section Summary, 113th Cong., February 2014, at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/
ways_and_means_section_by_section_summary_final_022614.pdf.
2 Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 45D(f).
3 As CDEs serve purposes outside the NMTC, they do not have to be for-profit organizations. However, to receive a
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
The structure of the NMTC creates incentives for CDEs and private investors to participate in the
program. CDEs benefit from the NMTC because they charge fees to their investors for organizing
the NMTC application and for structuring the financing for a portfolio of community
development projects. The private investors benefit because they receive, each year over seven
years, an annual tax credit equal to 5% to 6% of the total amount paid for the stock or capital
interest in the CDE that they purchase.4 Overall, the tax credit amounts to 39% of the cost of the
qualified equity investment (less the CDE’s fees) as long as the interest in the investment is
retained for the entire seven-year period. Thus, even if the community development project
funded by the CDE incurs some losses, the value of the tax credit could generate a positive return
for the private financers.
Opposition to the NMTC is partly based on the belief that corporations and higher-income
investors primarily benefit from the provision or that the NMTC leads to an economically
inefficient allocation of resources. For instance, while banks and other investors might benefit
directly from the credit, Freedman (2009) found that benefits of the NMTC to selected low-
income communities were modest.5 The study concluded that poverty and unemployment rates
fall by statistically significant amounts in tracts that receive NMTC-subsidized investment
relative to similar tracts that do not. From a national economic perspective, the impact of the
NMTC would be greatest in the case where the investment represents net investment in the U.S.
economy rather than a shift in investment from one location to another. Gurley-Calvez et al.
(2009) found that corporate NMTC investment represented a shift in investment location but a
portion of individual NMTC investment (roughly $641 million in the first four years of the
program from 2001 to 2004) represented new investment.6
The NMTC has been extended as a temporary tax provision since 2008, after its initial
authorization expired at the end of 2007.7 In more recent years, the Tax Relief, Unemployment
Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-312) extended NMTC
authorization through 2011 and permitting a maximum annual amount of qualified equity
investments of $3.5 billion. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA; P.L. 112-240)
extended the NMTC through 2012 and 2013 with an authority of $3.5 billion per year.
The EXPIRE Act would extend the NMTC for two years (through 2015) with an annual tax credit
allocation authority of $3.5 billion. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates the 10-year
revenue loss associated with the credits offered by this provision to be $1.8 billion.8
(...continued)
NMTC allocation a CDE must be a for-profit organization.
4 For more details, see CRS Report RL34402, New Markets Tax Credit: An Introduction, by Donald J. Marples and
Sean Lowry.
5 Matthew Freedman, “Teaching new markets old tricks: The effects of subsidized investment on low-income
neighborhoods,” Journal of Public Economics, vol. 96, no. 11-12 (December 2012), pp. 1000-1014.
6 Tami Gurley-Calvez et al., “Do tax incentives affect investment? An analysis of the New Markets Tax Credit,” Public
Finance Review, vol. 34, no. 4 (2009), pp. 371-398.
7 Given that some of these tax extenders have been passed retroactively, the CDFI Fund has often issued a Notice of
Funds Availability (NOFA) for the NMTC in the Federal Register despite not having formal authorization of funds.
8 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
to H.R. 3474, the “Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency ('EXPIRE’) Act of 2014,” Scheduled for
Consideration by the Senate, committee print, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., March 15, 2014, JCX-51-14 (Washington: GPO,
2014), at https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=4601.
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2013 (S. 1133), the Invest in United States Act of
2014 (H.R. 3939), and the New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2014 (H.R. 4365) would
permanently extend the NMTC, among other provisions.
For more information on the NMTC, see CRS Report RL34402, New Markets Tax Credit: An
Introduction, by Donald J. Marples and Sean Lowry; and CRS Report R42770, Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund: Programs and Policy Issues, by Sean Lowry.
Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives
Empowerment Zones (EZs) are federally designated geographic areas characterized by high
levels of poverty and economic distress, where businesses and local governments may be eligible
to receive federal grants and tax incentives.9 Since 1993, Congress has authorized three rounds of
EZs (1993, 1997, and 1999) with the objective of revitalizing selected economically distressed
communities. EZs are similar to Enterprise Communities (ECs) and Renewal Communities
(RCs), which are also federally-designated areas for the purposes of tax benefits and grants.
A number of studies have evaluated the effectiveness of the EZ, EC, and RC programs. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) have failed to link EZ and EC designation with improvement in community
outcomes.10 Other research has found modest, if any, effects and calls into question the cost-
effectiveness of these programs. This inability to link these programs to improvements in
community level outcomes should not be interpreted as meaning that the EZ, EC, and RC
programs did not aid economic development. The main conclusion from these studies is that the
EZ, EC, and RC programs have not been shown to have caused a general improvement in the
economic conditions of the localities. One possible cause for this inability to empirically show the
program effects on a large geographic area is that the EZ tax incentives are relatively small.
Another possibility is that the EZ tax incentives are targeted at business owners and do not
provide direct benefits to workers in EZs.
The EXPIRE Act includes six tax incentives related to EZs:11 (1) local designation of an EZ;12
(2) increased exclusion of gain;13 (3) issuance of qualified, tax-exempt zone academy bonds
(QZABs) in EZs;14 (4) EZ employment credits under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
(WOTC);15 (5) increased expensing under IRC Section 179 for businesses located in EZs;16 and
(6) non-recognition of gain on rollover of EZ investments.17
9 For a list of EZs, see U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “List of Current Empowerment
Zones and Updated Contact Information,” at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/
comm_planning/economicdevelopment/programs/rc/ezcontacts.
10 For more discussion, see CRS Report R41639, Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Renewal
Communities: Comparative Overview and Analysis, by Donald J. Marples.
11 For a quick reference chart with a description of each of these provisions, see U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives Summary Chart, August 2013, at
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=ez_tis_chart.pdf.
12 IRC Sections 1391(d)(1)(A)(i) and (h)(2).
13 IRC Sections 1202(a)(2) and 1391(d)(1)(A)(i).
14 IRC Sections 1394 and 1391(d)(1)(A)(i).
15 IRC Sections 1396 and 1391(d)(1)(A)(i). For more information of the WOTC, see CRS Report RL30089, The Work
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
EZs were created by legislation enacted in 1993, and most zones expired at the end of 2009. The
Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-
312) extended the EZ and District of Columbia Enterprise Zone designations to December 31,
2011. ATRA (P.L. 112-240) extended EZ designations through 2013.18
The EXPIRE Act would extend the EZ provisions for two years (through 2015). The Joint
Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates the 10-year revenue loss associated with these provisions
to be $498 million.19
The Growth Zones Opportunity Act (H.R. 4471) would extend the designation of EZs for tax
incentives through 2020 and increase the exclusion of gain in IRC Section 1202(a)(2) through
2025. The Revitalize Our Cities Act (H.R. 3535) would extend EZ designations for three years
(through 2016).
For more analysis of EZs, see CRS Report R41639, Empowerment Zones, Enterprise
Communities, and Renewal Communities: Comparative Overview and Analysis, by Donald J.
Marples.
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds—Allocation of
Bond Limitation20
Typically, state and local governments can issue tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of
certain public facilities, such as schools. However, some low-income communities have found it
difficult to finance new schools or rehabilitate existing schools.
As one option to finance elementary and secondary schools, eligible local governments in EZs,
ECs, or other designated zones can issue Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs). Proceeds
from the bonds may be used for renovating school buildings, purchasing equipment, developing
curricula, or training teachers or other school personnel—but not for new construction.21 The
(...continued)
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), by Christine Scott.
16 IRC Sections 1397A and 1391(d)(1)(A)(i). For more information on Section 179 expensing, see CRS Report
R43510, Selected Recently Expired Business Tax Provisions (“Tax Extenders”), by Jane G. Gravelle, Donald J.
Marples, and Molly F. Sherlock; and CRS Report RL31852, Section 179 and Bonus Depreciation Expensing
Allowances: Current Law, Legislative Proposals in the 113th Congress, and Economic Effects, by Gary Guenther.
17 IRC Sections 1397B and 1391(d)(1)(A)(i).
18 However, ATRA did not provide for the extension of the designation for the District of Columbia Enterprise Zone,
and therefore that designation ended on Dec. 31, 2011.
19 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute to H.R. 3474, the “Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency ('EXPIRE’) Act of 2014,”
Scheduled for Consideration by the Senate, committee print, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., March 15, 2014, JCX-51-14
(Washington: GPO, 2014), at https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=4601.
20 IRC Sections 54E and 1397E.
21 For information on federal programs for new school construction or renovation, see CRS Report R41142, School
Construction and Renovation: A Review of Federal Programs, by Cassandria Dortch. See the “Tax Credit Bonds”
section of that report for more details on the qualifications for QZAB debt instruments.
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
Secretary of Education makes all allocations of QZAB bonds to school divisions or charter
schools.
Banks, insurance companies, or corporations actively engaged in the business of lending money
are eligible to purchase the QZABs and are eligible for a tax credit equal to the dollar value of the
bonds held multiplied by a credit rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.22 In other
words, QZABs pay investors a tax credit in lieu of an interest payment from the issuer. The value
of the credit is included in taxable income and can be used to reduce regular or alternative
minimum income tax liability.23
The provision is intended to encourage public-private partnerships, as eligibility partly depends
on a school district’s ability to attract private contributions that have a present value equal to at
least 10% of the value of the bond proceeds. In effect, QZABs also shift part of the burden of
financing education from state and local governments to the federal government. Although the
local government issuer pays the principal on the bond, the federal government pays the interest
cost associated with QZABs.
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) created QZABs. The limit for QZAB debt was
$400 million annually from 1998 through 2008. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) increased these limits to $1.4 billion for 2009 and 2010. The Tax
Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-312)
extended authority for QZABs through 2011 with a $400 million limit. Most recently, ATRA (P.L.
112-240) extended the $400 annual limit for 2012 and 2013.
The EXPIRE Act would extend the tax credit for QZABs for two years (through 2015) with an
annual limit of $400 million. The JCT estimates the 10-year revenue loss associated with this
provision to be $284 million.24
The Rebuilding America’s Schools Act (H.R. 1629; S. 1523) would make permanent the QZAB
limitation amount of $1.4 billion annually, permit private entities to waive the 10% matching
requirement for QZABs, and permit QZAB proceeds to be used for constructing a new public
school facility in which such an academy is established.
For more information on QZABs and other tax credit bonds, see CRS Report R40523, Tax Credit
Bonds: Overview and Analysis, by Steven Maguire.
22 The credit rate is set to approximate the current taxable market rate of bonds issued with similar risk and term.
Unused credit capacity can be carried forward for up to two years.
23 For a basic discussion of how tax deductions and tax credits work, see CRS Report R42872, Tax Deductions for
Individuals: A Summary, by Sean Lowry.
24 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute to H.R. 3474, the “Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency ('EXPIRE’) Act of 2014,”
Scheduled for Consideration by the Senate, committee print, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., March 15, 2014, JCX-51-14
(Washington: GPO, 2014), at https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=4601.
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
American Samoa Economic Development Credit25
The American Samoa economy is largely dependent on three sectors: public works and
government, tuna canning, and the residual private sector (e.g., tourism and other services). From
2002 to 2007, real GDP per capita in the territory decreased by 1.9%.26 Real GDP growth ranged
from -2.9% to 2.1% over the same period, largely due the changes in the exports of canned tuna
(which comprise 90% of the territory’s exports).27 Two shocks disrupted the economy in the
following years. First, Chicken of the Sea, one of the island’s two major tuna canneries,
announced in 2007 that it was laying off over 2,000 workers in American Samoa and shifting
production to a labor-efficient plant in Georgia, closer to its customer base on the mainland.
Second, an 8.0+ magnitude earthquake hit the island in September 2009 and generated tsunami-
sized waves. President Obama declared the island a disaster zone and ordered federal aid to assist
with local emergency efforts.28 Real GDP in American Samoa increased by 0.5% in 2011, but
decreased by 2.4% in 2012.29 Government spending on reconstruction efforts has tapered off, but
private construction spending has increased as Washington state-based Tri Marine International
has built a tuna cold-storage facility and is opening a new processing plant in 2014. Still, the
American Samoa economy is largely dependent on exports of canned tuna.
The American Samoa economic development credit (EDC) is a credit against U.S. corporate
income tax in an amount equal to the sum of certain percentages of a domestic corporation’s
employee wages, employee fringe benefit expenses, and tangible property depreciation
allowances for the taxable year in respect of the active conduct of a trade or business within
American Samoa. The credit was available only to a U.S. corporation that, among other
requirements, claimed the now-expired possession tax credit (predecessor to the EDC) with
respect to American Samoa for its last taxable year beginning before January 1, 2006.30
The EXPIRE Act would modify the previous version of the EDC by making a version of the
credit available to all qualifying manufacturing businesses operating in the territory, not just ones
that initially claimed the now-expired possession tax credit.31 This modification was requested in
a letter written by Togiola Tulafono, Governor of American Samoa.32 Media reports suggest that
25 Section 119 of P.L. 109-432, as amended by Section 756 of P.L. 111-312.
26 U.S. Department of Commerce, “The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Releases Estimates of the Major
Components of Gross Domestic Product for American Samoa,” press release, May 10, 2010, at http://www.bea.gov/
newsreleases/general/terr/2010/asgdp_051010.htm.
27 Ibid.
28 Department of Homeland Security, “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): President Declares Major
Disaster For Territory of American Samoa,” press release, September 29, 2009.
29 U.S. Department of Commerce, “The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Releases 2011 and 2012 Estimates of
Gross Domestic Product for American Samoa,” press release, September 10, 2013, at http://www.bea.gov/
newsreleases/general/terr/2013/asgdp_090313.pdf.
30 See Section 936 of H.Rept. 109-455.
31 For more details, see U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Finance, Report to accompany the Expiring Provisions
Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act of 2014, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., April 2014, p. 97.
32 Letter from Togiola Tulafono, Governor, American Samoa, to Senators Max Baucus and Orrin Hatch, Chairman and
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, June 22, 2012, at http://americansamoa.gov/index.php/news-
bottom/153-gov-togiola-requests-us-senate-finance-committee-for-economic-development-credit-to-include-all-
qualified-businesses-in-american-samoa.
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Community Assistance Related “Tax Extenders”: In Brief
the main beneficiary of the EDC, thus far, has been StarKist, which has retained its cannery
operations on the island.33
The current form of the EDC was first enacted in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006
(P.L. 109-432) and originally expired at the end of 2007. The provision was extended by the Tax
Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-312)
through 2011 and by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) through 2013.
The EXPIRE Act extends the EDC for two years (through 2015). The JCT estimates the 10-year
revenue loss associated with this provision to be $29 million.34
Author Contact Information
Sean Lowry
Analyst in Public Finance
slowry@crs.loc.gov, 7-9154
33 See Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (AS), “Senate Finance Committee Passes Two-Year Extension of
American Samoa Economic Development Credit,” press release, April 3, 2014, at http://faleomavaega.house.gov/
media-center/press-releases/senate-finance-committee-passes-two-year-extension-of-american-samoa.
34 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute to H.R. 3474, the “Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency ('EXPIRE’) Act of 2014,”
Scheduled for Consideration by the Senate, committee print, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., March 15, 2014, JCX-51-14
(Washington: GPO, 2014), at https://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&id=4601.
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