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Georgia low-income housing and historic rehabilitation tax credits are critical for the financial and social wellbeing of residents across the state, a series of witnesses testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday in Columbus.
Builders, financial experts, and nonprofit executives defended the two types of tax credits before the Joint Tax Credit Review Panel, a committee of state representatives and senators formed this year to examine the various tax incentives Georgia offers and determine whether the state is getting a healthy return on the lost revenue.
Since its first meeting in June, the panel has heard representatives of Georgia manufacturers and the film industry advocate on behalf of their respective tax credits as well as officials from public policy organizations discuss the pros and cons of the tax incentives the state uses to attract certain types of businesses that might not otherwise set up shop in Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs used the state’s low-income housing tax credit to help finance 32,000 affordable housing units between 2019 and 2022, Philip Gilman, the agency’s deputy commissioner for housing and development, told the committee Wednesday.
While the federal government funds one-third of the cost of those units and banks provide another one-third, the state’s one-third match is vital, said Chris Hite, a board member of the Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition and president of Sugar Creek Capital.
“You take away our money and none of these deals work,” Hite said. “But for the state credit, nothing gets built.”
Cathy Williams, president and CEO of the nonprofit NeighborWorks Columbus, said the benefits of helping low-income Georgians obtain affordable housing go beyond bricks and…
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