The following article by Peter Jamison was posted on the Washington Post website November 15, 2017:
Local officials say private activity bonds needed for affordable housing
The grand opening Wednesday of Archer Park, an affordable housing complex of 190 units in a long-troubled neighborhood of Southeast Washington, had the trappings of similar ceremonies in the past.
But along with oversized ribbon-cutting scissors and celebratory speeches, the gathering had something less typical: An undertone of alarm over looming changes to the federal tax code that D.C. officials say would make developments like Archer Park impossible.
The development’s solar-paneled roof and immaculate workout room have replaced what was once a set of squat brick buildings that hosted an open-air drug market — but only with help from a system of tax-exempt financing that would be eliminated in House Republicans’ proposed tax overhaul. Continue reading “House tax plan faces bipartisan backlash over repeal of development incentives”