A new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program has launched to help low-income households receive discounts on their broadband service. Lawmakers authorized the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) in December as part of a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package. Now, with more than 875 Internet service providers on board, the FCC finally has launched the program in every state and territory.
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2021-28. This is their annual public notice seeking recommendations for the next Priority Guidance Plan. The Priority Guidance Plan identifies guidance projects that the Treasury and IRS intend to work on during the period from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.One level deeper: In reviewing recommendations and selecting projects for inclusion on the 2021–2022 Priority Guidance Plan, the IRS will consider the following:
The Treasury Department recently published "The Made in America Tax Plan Report," which further describes President Biden’s tax plan that was included in the recently announced American Jobs Plan. The tax plan's goal is to make American companies and workers more competitive by eliminating incentives to offshore investment, substantially reducing profit shifting, countering tax competition on corporate rates, and providing tax preferences for clean energy production.
On March 15, the IRS issued Notice 2021-19 providing the resident population figures needed to determine the 2021 population-based component of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit ceiling. Nationally, the population-based LIHTC allocations will increase by 0.4 percent ($3.7 million) in 2021.
The White House formally announced the appointment of Erika Poethig as Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy at the White House’s Domestic Policy Council (DPC).
The IRS recently posted a notice of public hearing in the Federal Register. On March 24, the IRS will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations setting forth guidance on the implementation of the average income test.
National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF) recently announced that it made more affordable housing investments in 2020 than at any time in its 33-year history. National Equity Fund, Inc., based in Chicago, is a nonprofit affordable housing investor and one of the nation's largest syndicators of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
On Jan. 29, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially issued an order extending the eviction moratorium to March 31, 2021. The order continues to ban evictions for certain renters under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §264) and 42 CFR §70.2.
The Department of the Treasury recently released a list of state and local governments that will receive grants through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. The Treasury Department had launched the ERA program, making available $25 billion to assist households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Jan. 5. The funds are provided directly to states, U.S. territories, local governments, and Indian tribes. And grantees can use the funds to provide assistance to eligible households through existing or newly created rental assistance programs.
On Jan. 26, President Biden signed several new executive orders addressing racial equity, including a memorandum that directs HUD to mitigate racial bias in housing and advance fair housing laws. Biden said in a press conference, “We need to make equity and justice part of what we do every day… Again, I’m not promising we can end it tomorrow, but we are going to continue to make progress to eliminate systemic racism in every branch of the White House and the federal government.”
