Over the past several decades, the federal community development portfolio has increasingly shifted from grants-in-aid to the tax code. Rapoza Associates has a clear record of success when it comes to engaging federal tax policymakers, including the members of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Our firm also has close working relationships with staff at the Department of the Treasury.
We are proud of our ability to analyze and decode the constantly shifting landscape of federal tax policy.
Our team has the knowledge and experience to guide clients through both regulatory and policy issues. It takes more than just reciting talking points to engage and influence decision-makers—it requires substantive knowledge to successfully shape policy and achieve our clients’ goals. From our work in establishing the New Markets Tax Credit to advocating for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Rapoza Associates has earned its reputation as a thoughtful expert in the economic development tax policy.
We know what to look for.
As the debate on extension on NMTC and the future of federal community development programs intensified in the 112th Congress, we produced a report documenting the decline in federal community development spending over the last 30 years. This report received wide circulation and was an important element in the campaign to stem the budget cutting tide and extend NMTC. Then, in June of 2015, we managed the creation of a video to explain how the NMTC works and share real stories of community impact through live interviews with local leaders, businesses and their employees, as well as community members benefiting from community facilities financed through the Credit. We also assisted with a bipartisan letter signed by 55 Members of the House of Representatives that was sent to the Committee on Ways and Means that month, as well as helped provide content and background information for a resolution in support of the NMTC that was adopted at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the US Conference of Mayors. All of these efforts were valuable pieces in the effort to reauthorize the NMTC, which culminated with a five-year extension of the NMTC that was passed by 114th Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December of 2015. This extension is the longest since the Credit was first implemented.
Case Study: The New Markets Tax Credit Coalition
Rapoza Associates launched the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, managing and representing it for more than a decade.
The NMTC Coalition played a central role in developing the initial concept for New Markets and successfully worked with Congress for its enactment. The New Markets Tax Credit was passed into law in 2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 and so far, it has leveraged nearly $95 billion in direct loans and investments to more than 6,000 businesses in some the most distressed communities in America. Once the law was enacted, the NMTC Coalition worked on implementation of the credit, including extensive consultation with the Treasury Department on rulemaking and subsequent guidance. The Coalition maintains an ongoing relationship with the Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which administers the tax credit, as well as the Office of Tax Policy and the Internal Revenue Service, which are responsible for tax provisions of NMTC.
