Norton Gets Big D.C.-Only Homebuyer and Business Tax Credits Renewed - December 8, 2006
Norton Gets Big D.C.-Only Homebuyer and Business Tax Credits Renewed as 109th Winds Down
December 8, 2006
*Click here for a Q & A Fact Sheet on the Credits.
Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today got through the House a two-year extension of the $5,000 homebuyer and business tax credits, one of her top priorities for the 109th Congress. The D.C.-only credits, which Norton first won in 1997, expired on December 31, 2005, but will be retroactive for this year and extended through the end of 2007. Norton has been waging a strong fight to get the tax provisions passed but they were bogged down in a battle over other legislation, not because of the substance of the D.C. credits. In 2005, both houses of Congress passed different tax bills, both which included the D.C. credits, but a conference committee had to reach an agreement on the total package before they could be considered today by the House. The Senate is expected to approve the tax package before the lame duck session ends today or over the weekend.
“Even in today’s cooling housing market, home prices are out of reach for many D.C. residents. The $5,000 homebuyer credit is desperately necessary in this town today,” Norton said. “Moreover, the $300 million deficit the city is facing this early in the fiscal year means that we need to keep business here and more coming as tax revenue falls in a critical economy.”
Norton said that she is elated that prospective homebuyers who were hesitant to purchase and businesses that had put projects on hold now will be able to move forward. Inquiries about the homebuyer tax credit have been the subject of steady calls to Norton’s offices since they expired last year. Callers were advised to continue with home purchases and business expansion because Norton was working with colleagues simultaneously in both houses of Congress and believed that she could get the credits through. Residents and businesses will qualify for the benefits as they fill out tax forms for 2006.
The Norton homebuyer tax refund is credited with stabilizing the city’s population and stemming the near-catastrophic taxpayer flight of recent decades. A study showed that the largest group using the credit are D.C. renters who decide to buy here rather than leave for the suburbs. The D.C. business tax incentives have assisted scores of small and large businesses, as well. Employers located within the D.C. Enterprise Zones qualify for many attractive tax incentives, including tax exempt bonds for facilities and equipment and federal income tax credits for wages paid to employees who are D.C. residents. The wage credit is a Norton favorite because it has offered an incentive to businesses to hire D.C. residents, who often find they are overwhelmed by the much larger number of regional residents who apply for D.C. jobs at every level. “D.C. has been a virtual job-making machine for the region. The wage credit has helped to even the competition,” Norton said. In addition, the business tax credit has kept many businesses in D.C. that otherwise might have left. Thousands of jobs have been created as the credits became a magnet for both attracting employers and for hiring D.C. residents.