State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is sworn-in at the State Capitol in Jefferson City on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
JEFFERSON CITY — A committee of Missouri’s housing commission is recommending that the state expand a pilot program that pays out low-income housing tax credits faster in an effort to boost prices for the credits in a program long criticized for inefficiency.
Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, who sits on the Missouri Housing Development Commission board, announced Tuesday a committee he chairs will push for half of the state’s low-income tax credits to be included in the accelerated redemption program. The committee’s report found that frontloading the tax credits during the 10-year payout period for low-income housing projects increased the credit price to 67.5 cents on the dollar, up 9 cents from regular credit prices last year and up 10 cents from 2017 prices.
“The accelerated redemption pilot program led to a significant increase in pricing for low-income housing tax credits meaning your tax dollars are being spent more efficiently and more low-income housing can be built as a result,” Fitzpatrick, who chaired the study committee, said in a statement.
The state housing commission typically selects rent-controlled developments to receive both state and federal low income tax credits around the end of the year under a vetting process that will begin in the coming months. Big money is at stake: In December, the commission allocated a pool of state and federal tax credits that, over a decade, are worth close to $300 million — $17 million a year from the federal government and $12 million a year from the state.