Preserve & Protect Tax-Exempt Bonds

There are indications that Congress and the new Administration are taking steps to curtail or potentially eliminate all Tax-Exempt Bonds. Losing Tax-Exempt Bonds would devastate American communities and set economic development efforts back decades. We need your immediate help with a letter campaign to Congressional offices and state representatives across the country. Please use the link below to download a letter template that you can copy and paste into your own letterhead and send to your local representatives. Any and all outreach is critical to gaining support in Congress.

Download the Preserve & Protect Tax-Exempt Bonds Letter Template


CDFA Signs-On to Support Brownfields Redevelopment Tax Incentive Reauthorization Act

CDFA signs-on to support for the reintroduction of the Brownfields Redevelopment Tax Incentive Reauthorization Act, which will allow taxpayers to fully deduct the cleanup costs of contaminated property in the year the costs were incurred. The brownfield tax incentive is an investment in economic development, community health, and communities disadvantaged by historic land use patterns and hazardous land uses: restoring this vial tax incentive is long overdue and must be a priority in any tax legislation considered by this Congress.

Read the Sign-On Letter


CDFA Administration Transition Paper

The recommendations outlined in this paper provide a strategic roadmap for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress to introduce development finance solutions to address our nation’s most pressing issue. These proposals have been carefully designed to tackle the complex and interrelated challenges confronting the U.S. economy. In addition, these policy ideas can be easily achieved by both administrative action by the White House and legislative action by Congress. These ideas are all geared towards engaging more private sector investment and driving capital in our communities. Nearly all of these ideas can be achieved in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress.

Read CDFA Administration Transition Paper


CDFA Opportunity Zones 2.0 Briefing

CDFA hosted an insightful and engaging Advocacy Briefing on Opportunity Zones 2.0, featuring a dynamic discussion with representatives from a U.S. Senator's office and some of the leading voices in the Opportunity Zones industry. Thank you to the 250 registrants who joined us for this valuable conversation. CDFA is committed to delivering high-quality content like this and providing resources through our Opportunity Zones Resource Center. For those who could not attend, the briefing recording is now available! We look forward to bringing you more events like this in the future!

Watch the briefing

Development finance agencies are encouraged to let their voices be heard on Capitol Hill. To get engaged, contact CDFA.

Overview

CDFA is committed to fulfilling numerous development finance policy objectives in 2025, including the improvement of tax-exempt bonds, reinstatement of the brownfields redevelopment tax incentive, and continued support for critical federal financing programs. This agenda is borne out of CDFA’s 42 years as a national leader in the development finance industry and is crafted to address market-based access to capital challenges. CDFA is prepared to assist Congress with implementation of the following policy priorities:

• Priority 1: Reform Manufacturing and Agricultural Bonds - Passing the Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act will update the tax code's private activity bond rules for Industrial Development Bonds and Agricultural Bonds.


• Priority 2: Create Permanent Disaster Recovery Bonds - Create a permanent bond financing tool that can be accessed immediately after disaster strikes, and that can leverage private investment for longer-term redevelopment of essential infrastructure.


• Priority 3: Preserving and Protecting Tax-Exempt Bonds - It is imperative that the Administration and Congress preserve and protect tax-exempt bonds as part of any update to the federal tax code. Proposals to restrict, cap, and/or eliminate the tax-exemption status of municipal and private activity bonds should be opposed, while the tax exemption itself should be strengthened where possible.


• Priority 4: Strengthening the State Small Business Credit Initiative - The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a practical, pragmatic, and proven program that is helping America’s small businesses access lower-cost capital, thereby creating high-quality jobs – especially in underserved communities. An opportunity exists to bolster SSBCI by expediting Treasury’s review of applications and disbursement of funds for this program. In addition, additional funding for the SSBCI program would go a long way toward ensuring an evergreen state presence in supporting small business development.


• Priority 5: Revitalizing Opportunity Zones - Opportunity Zones, created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, were established to spur economic development and job creation in stressed or rural parts of the country. While the program has been a success, key provisions of the program have already sunset, and the entire program is set to expire in 2026. Numerous proposals exist to extend and reform the program, and passage of a new Opportunity Zones 2.0 should be a major policy effort by the Administration and the 119th Congress.


• Priority 6: Expanding Affordable Housing Inventory - Affordable housing development must be a critical focus of the Administration and the 119th Congress. In 2024, bipartisan, thoughtful legislation known as the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act was introduced and would create a temporary federal tax credit to encourage the conversion of vacant and underutilized commercial properties into residential housing.


• Priority 7: Permanently Authorizing New Markets Tax Credit - The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, created in 2000 to incentivize community development and economic growth in under-resourced neighborhoods, will expire in 2025. Making the NMTC program permanent would catalyze a long-term vision for community investment and give private sector investors a great ability to drive capital where it is most needed.

There are indications that Congress and the new Administration are taking steps to curtail or potentially eliminate all Tax-Exempt Bonds. Losing Tax-Exempt Bonds would devastate American communities and set economic development efforts back decades.

Help Us Preserve & Protect Tax-Exempt Bonds

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