Congressional Committee Plans Deeper Look at Tax Extenders

Congressman Pat Tiberi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, held a hearing recently on how Congress should evaluate tax extenders or the framework that Congress should use to assess whether to extend certain tax provisions that either expired in 2011 or will expire in 2012. The tax provisions include New Market Tax Credits and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Some witnesses at the hearing expressed support for specific tax provisions and cited their contributions to the economy and their benefits as proof of those provisions' merit. For example, Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary for housing and community development in Massachusetts, testified that the New Markets Tax Credit, Build America Bonds, Empowerment Zones and Empowerment Zone Bonds, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and housing units throughout the nation.