One more way the GOP tax law is screwing people over: reducing the growth of affordable housing
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Most Americans knew that the Republican tax plan would be bad for us. That’s why we overwhelmingly did not support it. Yet, here we are in 2018 with a law that overhauls taxes in order to reduce taxes for the wealthy and for corporations while taxing tOne more way the GOP tax law is screwing people over: reducing the growth of affordable housing
Most Americans knew that the Republican tax plan would be bad for us. That’s why we overwhelmingly did not support it. Yet, here we are in 2018 with a law that overhauls taxes in order to reduce taxes for the wealthy and for corporations while taxing the poor and middle class the hardest. That is most certainly not making America great—unless you have millions of dollars. Still, it gets worse. This law also means that the development of affordable housing will be impacted. And in a nation where homelessness is on the rise because rents are now sky-high, that isn’t exactly good news. The last time that Congress approved a sweeping overhaul of the federal tax code, in 1986, it created a tax credit meant to encourage the private sector to invest in affordable housing. It has grown into a $9 billion-a-year social program that has funded the construction of some three million apartments for low-income residents. But the Republican tax plan approved last month amounts to a vast cutback, making it much less likely that such construction will continue apace. Because the tax rate for corporations has been lowered, the value of the credits — which corporations get in return for their investments — is also lower. [...] It works like this: State governments award credits to affordable-housing developers, who transfer them to corporations in exchange for equity in rental buildings whose units are set aside for low-income tenants. Corporations use the credits as a coupon against future taxes. Low-income housing tax credits are particularly popular among banks because affordable-housing investments help satisfy their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act. Thanks to the incredible greed of the Republicans, corporations now have no incentive to develop subsidized housing for people who desperately need it. That should be shocking. It would be in a lot of countries. But after all, this is America. And since our national culture is one in which people are so obsessed with wealth, fame. and getting as many material possessions as you can, it shouldn’t surprise us that conservative lawmakers and corporations are unconcerned with passing laws that will force people to live on the streets. Read more