Norton's Homebuyer & Business Tax Credits Clear Senate in Time to Weather Financial Crisis (9/23/08)

Washington, D.C. - As the meltdown of the country's major financial institutions further distresses the markets, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said she is especially pleased that her homebuyer and business tax credits, available only in the District, this evening got past the Senate hurdle that has kept the bill from being passed for almost two years. The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, which includes the tax credits, will be retroactive to 2007 and will be good through 2009. The bill will be returned to the House for final approval, which the Congresswoman will work hard to ensure.

The unique tax credits, introduced in the 1990s when the District suffered its worse economic conditions, has helped stabilize the city by encouraging renters to buy homes and small businesses to stay and to come to the city. "The renewed D.C. tax credits come at a moment of great need, as individuals, families, and small businesses in the District - and around the country - face extreme difficulties in the most serious downturn since the 1930s," Norton said. She said that, "the business tax credits are urgent at a time when developers need all the help they can get to keep economic development projects, necessary for D.C. revenue, from stalling. The unique homebuyer credit will help people buy here rather than in the suburbs, where they are on their own."