President Signs D.C. Homebuyer and Business Tax Credits- December 27, 2006
President Signs D.C. Homebuyer and Business Tax Credits
Good for '06 and '07 Tax Years
December 22, 2006
**Norton Tax Fair Saturday, February 10, 10 AM to 1 PM
Washington Convention. Call 783-5065 for more information.
Washington, DC-D.C. home and business owners can move forward, now that President Bush signed Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) $5,000 homebuyer and business tax credits into law earlier this week. They are retroactive for all of 2006 and effective through 2007. Congress passed the two-year extension of the D.C.-only credits in a package of national tax provisions earlier this month in the final days of the 109th session. The credits, which Norton first won in 1997, expired on December 31, 2005.
Norton said that she is relieved that homebuyers, who have been hesitant to purchase and businesses that put projects on hold, can go forward. Administration witnesses at a Senate hearing this year questioned the continuing need for the credits, but the Congresswoman said that the success of these incentives argued for their continuation rather than cutting them before the job is done. Experts say D.C. must retain and then add 100,000 residents, and the business incentives are particularly important to retain and attract the small business tax base.
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. They had been bogged down by inaction with tax provisions unrelated to D.C.'s. 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. The D.C. business tax incentives have assisted scores of small and large businesses, as well. Employers located in many residential and downtown neighborhoods qualify for these attractive tax incentives, including tax exempt bonds for facilities and equipment and federal tax credits for wages paid to employees who are D.C. residents. Norton said, "The wage credit is my favorite because D.C. is a virtual job machine for the region. The suburban job base is so large that they overwhelm our small numbers and our residents lose out. This credit levels the playing field and gives employers an incentive to look closely at D.C. residents and help make up for the denial of commuter tax authority here."
Residents interested in the homebuyer credit can call Norton's office at (202) 225-8050 or go to https://www.norton.house.gov/ for general information or contact the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-tax-form or https://www.irs.gov/. Information about the business tax credits is available at the D.C. Office of Planning and Economic Development at (202) 727-6365 or www.dc.gov.