The Mortgage Bankers Association announced its support Friday for the bipartisan, bicameral "Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024."
“MBA and its members have long called for enacting tax provisions that address our nation’s housing affordability crisis and the acute shortage of homes for owning and renting. We support this bill, particularly for its meaningful enhancements to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) that will produce an estimated 200,000 additional rental units over the next two years, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said.
According to the bill, it will restore the 12.5% state housing credit ceiling increase for the low-income housing credit, which was reduced to 9% in 2022. The bill will also make it easier for developers to get a tax credit even if they use a little bit less money from housing bonds issued by state housing finance authorities. To qualify for the credit in the past, 50% of the funds would need to come from these bonds, but the bill lowers it to 30%. It will also allow the funding to build it or rehabilitate it.
“Specifically, the increased state allocations for affordable housing projects and reduced tax-exempt bond financing requirement will help more borrowers and lenders to use the LIHTC program to construct and rehabilitate housing for low- and moderate-income households," Broeksmit said. "The LIHTC program is a successful public-private partnership that has supported the production of nearly three million rental units since its inception."
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said it will help build more than 200,000 new affordable housing units.
“We commend House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) for their bipartisan, bicameral work on this tax package and call on lawmakers to pass the proposal as soon as possible," Broeksmit added.
