HARRISBURG, October 17, 2018 – Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Pittsburgh) today lauded Senate passage of a bill (House Bill 645) that would double the state’s tax credit program aimed at encouraging businesses to invest in community revitalization efforts.
Fontana sponsored the Senate version (Senate Bill 512) of the legislation.
“The Neighborhood Assistance Program (Nap) provides a significant bang for the buck,” Fontana said. “In fiscal 2015-16, the $17 million in tax credits generated nearly eight times that amount in economic investment.”
Under the NAP, businesses make community revitalization commitments in exchange for state tax credits. The $18 million annual tax credit cap hasn’t been increased since the program was established in 1971. Fontana said the program’s reach has been hampered because tax credit requests regularly are more than double what the program’s cap permits. House Bill 645 would double the cap to $36 million.
The tax credit program works by creating partnerships between the businesses, government and grassroots community development organizations that target investment in struggling communities throughout Pennsylvania. NAP funding stokes revitalization by leveraging resources and building technical capacity and infrastructure within communities. Fontana said that many of the industrial towns throughout the region can benefit from the program.
House Bill 645 now goes to back to the House of Representatives for concurrence and then to the governor for enactment. Fontana said he is confident the governor will sign the bill into law.
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