The U.S. Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), U.S. Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) Community Development Entity (CDE) Certification Application.
The Department of the Treasury, through the CDFI Fund, administers the NMTC Program, which provides an incentive to investors in the form of tax credits over seven years. The tax credits stimulate the provision of private investment capital that, in turn, facilitates economic and community development in low-income communities.
In order to qualify for an allocation of tax credits through the NMTC Program, an entity must be certified as a CDE and submit an allocation application to the CDFI Fund. Nonprofit entities and for-profit entities may be certified as CDEs by the CDFI Fund. In order to be certified as a CDE, an entity must be a domestic corporation or partnership, that: (1) has a primary mission of serving or providing investment capital for low-income communities or low-income persons; and (2) maintains accountability to residents of low-income communities through their representation on any governing or advisory board of the entity.
The CDE Certification Application is being updated to ensure that Applicants are meeting the statutory and regulatory disclosure requirements as well as protecting government resources in alignment with Administration priorities where appropriate. The specific changes include:
- Removal of references to “Minority-Owned or Controlled” in terms of Applicant’s structure
- Added a new subsection on “Affiliate Information” to gather information about ownership, control, and foreign interests for affiliates
- Added a new subsection on “Government Investigations and Enforcement” to gather more information on government investigations, enforcement actions and related matters; and
- Added additional detailed language for federal anti-discrimination, alignment with specific Executive Orders, and prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse.
Comments are invited on: (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the CDFI Fund, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the CDFI Fund’s estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of technology; and the accuracy of the estimates of the burden of the information collections.
Comments must be submitted in writing by 60 days after the date of publication of the Federal Register notice via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.
Related Materials:
- Federal Register Notice
- For Comment: CDE Certification Application