The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program has been remarkably effective. Across the country, the lion’s share of below-market-rate housing has utilized these tax credits. Now, there is a broad-based effort in Congress to expand the credit significantly to make a good thing even better.
Efforts like Gov. Charlie Baker’s Housing Choice bill – which would amend state law to make it easier for local zoning boards to approve certain categories of housing – may assist in the creation of more market-rate housing in some communities. But it would not address the dire shortage of affordable housing units among the state’s poorest residents.
Although Massachusetts compares favorably to other states, a new report indicates the commonwealth still has a shortage of affordable housing to meet the needs of its lowest-income residents.
Freddie Mac announced its re-entry into the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) market. LIHTC, the leading federal program for encouraging the investment of equity in affordable rental housing, will support the creation and preservation of affordable rental housing for low- and very low-income households.
Plans in the U.S. Capitol to simplify and flatten the federal tax code are creating uncertainty for affordable housing developments that rely on tax credits for funding, the Baker administration’s top housing official said Monday.
