The Tax Code, Equity, and Access to Affordable Housing: A Conversation for Funders

About

The tax code is one of the most powerful tools the federal government has to provide families with economic security and wealth-building opportunities as well as to improve housing affordability and encourage community economic development. Yet we know that the federal tax code has a long history of perpetuating economic and racial inequities, including through individual tax provisions. In the realm of housing affordability, although low-income renters are more likely to pay a high share of their income for housing, the majority of federal housing expenditures subsidize home ownership.

How do tax policy, housing affordability, and equity intersect? In what ways did the 2017 tax law move equity efforts backward and how can we strengthen those provisions that are progressive and inclusive?  What is the role of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and what do we know about Renters' Tax Credit proposals?

In conjunction with EITC Funders Network and Funders for Housing and Opportunity, this webinar will provide an overview of the ways the federal tax code intersects with equity in the realm of housing affordability, and take a closer look at the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) -  the largest federal housing program in the US that redirects funds toward the creation and preservation of rental housing for low-income residents - as well as current proposals for a Federal Renters’ Credit to help low-income renters offset high housing costs.

Speakers:

• Allison Clark, Associate Director, Impact Investment at the MacArthur Foundation
• Will Fischer, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Chye-Ching Huang, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Samantha Jacoby, Senior Tax Legal Analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Megan John, Senior Policy Analyst at the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition