WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman David Schweikert joined a group of bipartisan Ways and Means Committee members in calling on the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) to ensure Native Communities have fair access to the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC). The NMTC has been a successful tool to generate jobs and business opportunities in America’s most distressed rural and urban communities, yet the latest round of NMTC allocation did not provide any credits to entities that commit 100 percent of their activities to aiding Native communities.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY), Congresswoman Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO), Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), Congressman Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI), Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN), and Congressman Ron Estes (R-KS) also signed the letter.

“There is still more to be done to improve this vital tax incentive: increase investment in Indian Country,” emphasized the lawmakers. “Earlier this year, the Ways & Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures convened to hear testimony on the impact of the tax code on Native American tribes. Both Native American Members of Congress and tribal witnesses testified that the NMTC is crucial for their communities.”

“While there has been investment in Indian Country and in census tracts with native populations (approximately $3.9 billion through 2019), the latest two NMTC allocation rounds resulted in zero allocation for Community Development Entities (CDEs) that committed 100 percent of their activities to aiding Native communities,” the lawmakers continued. “Overall, the poverty experienced in these communities, combined with a lack of access to private capital, is evidence that more NMTC investment is needed.

The lawmakers requested “that the Fund examine its allocation application and review process to identify and revise any elements that may inadvertently limit investment in Indian Country or the participation of minority CDEs. As the Subcommittee hearing made clear, we in Congress need to ensure that our tax laws do not result in systemic disparities between Indian tribes and other taxpayers. The same review should be done on the regulatory level to ensure that programs like the NMTC do the most good as possible across all communities.”

The full letter is available HERE.

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