Congressman Cohen Supports Renewal Community Enhancement Legislation

Washington, DC -- Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) joined Reps. Artur Davis (AL-7), Rodney Alexander (LA-5) and a bipartisan group of House Members in introducing H.R. 2578, the Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Enhancement Act of 2007.

“In the spirit of fostering economic development, the federal government must work to maintain and expand programs that foster job creation in impoverished communities. The Renewal Community designation carries significant federal tax incentives to stimulate business growth and create jobs for the 9th Congressional District and I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation to address this issue,” stated Congressman Cohen.Renewal community tax incentives encourage businesses to open, expand and hire local residents. These include employment credits, a zero percent tax on capital gains, accelerated depreciation through Commercial Revitalization Deductions and other incentives. Included within its provisions, this legislation would:

Extend Sunset for Empowerment Zone/Renewal Community Incentives -- allow improved incentives time to be implemented and have a positive impact. Generally would extend all incentives through 2015, for all rounds of EZs, all RCs and remaining Enterprise Communities;

Allow Rollover of Unused CRD Allocations -- unexpected construction delays and year-to-year fluctuations in demand can cause community revitalization development allocations, a significant tool for renewal communities, to expire unused;

Improve Boundaries for Economic Development-- Apply the original 20 percent poverty rate threshold to rules enacted in 2004 allowing the 2000 census data to be used for additions to RCs and allow more flexibility on Central Business District requirements to make zones more logical and extend incentives to certain such areas;

Memphis was first designated as a Renewal Community on January 21, 2002. A total of 69 census tracts now encompass the designated area, making it one of the largest renewal communities in the nation. The City of Memphis estimates that the total impact of the eight-year designation will be in excess of $300 million dollars.

Contact:

Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, Congressman Cohen (202) 225-3265