CHEFA Proposes New Legislative Agenda for Low-Income Community Tax Credits

CHEFA will pursue legislation in the 2023 session to establish a Connecticut Low-Income Community Tax Credit Program, to create additional resources for nonprofits to address social and economic needs in Connecticut’s low-income communities. Based on our efforts to establish a Connecticut New Markets Tax Credit Program and the feedback received, we are proposing a more simplified program that creates tax credit equity for nonprofits to use to finance building projects or capacity building investments.

Recently, staff invited George Hunton, Director of Tax Credit Programs, from the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority to present an overview of its New Hampshire Tax Credit Program to our Board of Directors. This program has been in existence since 1999 and has had a significant impact on community and economic development across the state with projects ranging from downtown revitalization and job creation efforts, to increasing access to affordable housing and addiction recovery services.

We have mirrored our proposed public-private partnership program after the New Hampshire’s program and seek authority for CHEFA’s subsidiary, CHEFA Community Development Corporation to accept up to $5 million annually from Connecticut businesses and in return issue $3.75 million in state tax credits. This will allow for nonprofits serving low-income communities to partner to with local business to finance investments in their mission.

To learn more about this program and our other legislative proposals, please contact Dan Giungi at dgiungi@chefa.com.