Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined Reps. Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Danny Davis (IL-07), and Mike Kelly (PA-16) in introducing the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Extension Act. This legislation would spur investment and economic growth in Alabama’s rural and underserved communities by making the NMTC a permanent fixture of our tax code.  

Set to expire on December 31, 2025, the New Markets Tax Credit was established in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, and is an essential source of financing for businesses and community facilities in low-income and rural areas across the country. The NMTC provides private investors with a 39 percent credit against federal income taxes for investments made in some of the most distressed communities in the nation. This bill makes the NMTC a permanent part of the Internal Revenue Code, indexes allocation levels to inflation in future years, and exempts NMTC investments from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). 

“In Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, we have seen firsthand the power of the New Markets Tax Credit to spur investment and incentivize economic growth in some of our most vulnerable and underserved communities,” said Rep. Sewell. “The New Markets Tax Credit remains a critical tool to promote job creation and provide opportunities to those who need them most. We must ensure that this tool is made a permanent part of our tax code, and that’s exactly what this legislation would do.”

“Now more than ever, it is essential that we work to create investments in our rural and low-income communities,” said Rep. Tenney, lead Republican sponsor. “Rural America is often forgotten by the Washington elites, which means that rural communities sometimes lack the necessary resources to invest, grow, and expand. Congress must make the New Markets Tax Credit permanent to allow our rural communities to continue accessing this important resource which helps to create jobs and stimulate economic growth. As a small business owner from rural America, I will always be a tenacious advocate for investments in our rural communities and businesses in Congress.”

“Over the years, the New Markets Tax Credit has well-proven its worth by revitalizing neighborhoods and cities that need the help the most,” said Rep. Kelly. “The New Markets Tax Credit Extension (NMTC) Act would allow more communities across the country to receive the benefits that I have seen firsthand in my district, including 518 new jobs from three projects in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Since the program’s inception, the NMTC has created over 24,000 permanent jobs and 27,000 construction across Pennsylvania. Along with revitalizing American’s Main Streets, the NMTC program is a job creator and I’m proud to support this legislation again in the 118th Congress!”

“The New Markets Tax Credit has been and remains absolutely vital for many of America’s urban neighborhoods and rural communities and will provide billions of dollars for high-impact, community revitalization projects,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “Over the years, the credit has been instrumental in financing plant and equipment for small manufacturing businesses and patient, flexible capital to other small businesses, hospitals, healthcare centers, homeless shelters and other transformative projects that improve communities, create jobs and economic opportunity. We appreciate the leadership of Representatives Tenney and Sewell in promoting more investment in distressed communities.”

“We commend Representatives Tenney and Sewell for leading the way to make the New Markets Tax Credit a permanent part of the tax code. It is one of the most concrete steps the 118th Congress could take to spur investment in economically distressed communities—from rural towns to urban neighborhoods, and everywhere in between,” said Lori Chatman, Interim co-CEO, Enterprise Community Partners. “This proposal is a bipartisan opportunity to add stability and efficiency to a program that has already delivered $120 billion in community assets and created more than 1 million jobs nationwide, including NMTCs Enterprise recently provided to finance the GLOW Healthy Living Campus in Batavia, New York.”

Additional cosponsors include Rep. Miller (R-WV), Rep. Ferguson (R-GA), Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Smucker (R-PA), Rep. Wenstrup (R-OH), Rep. LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Yakym III (R-IN), Rep. Steube (R-FL), Rep. Carey (R-OH), Rep. Buchanan (R-FL), Rep. Van Duyne (R-TX), Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Sánchez (D-CA), Rep. Higgins (D-NY), Rep. DelBene (D-WA), Rep. Chu (D-CA), Rep. Moore (D-WI), Rep. Kildee (D-MI), Rep. Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Evans (D-PA), Rep. Panetta (D-CA).

Read the full bill text here.