U.S. SENATE

Tax credit renewal pushed by Brown

E. Toledo dock used financing

3/13/2014

The Blade
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Communities that have suffered significant manufacturing job losses would benefit from a tax credit introduced in Congress by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), the senator said in a telephone news conference Wednesday.

The bill, titled Manufacturing Communities Investment Act, would renew the New Market Tax Credit that existed from 2003 to 2012 for three more years. Senator Brown said the tax credit helped create more than 550,000 jobs and $60 billion in private investment.

The bill would allocate $5 billion annually, with an additional $1 billion for communities that suffered “major job loss,” Mr. Brown said.

The plan provides for a tax credit equal to 39 percent of private investment over seven years.

The senator has advocated repealing the carried interest loophole for hedge-fund managers to pay for the tax credit.

The legislation is endorsed by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, according to Senator Brown’s staff.

“This legislation provides private investors with real incentives to invest in companies that want to breathe new life in these communities by creating good jobs in the manufacturing sector,” Mr. Brown said.

The senator’s staff said the legislation has been endorsed by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which starting in 2012 used a New Market Tax Credit as part of financing for its Ironville Dock project in East Toledo.

The $18 million project has created 160 construction jobs and is expected to be home to 40 permanent full-time jobs. As planned, the port-owned site, operated by Midwest Terminals of Toledo, includes a new warehouse, overhead crane, railroad spurs, and a deep-water ship dock.

The bill was introduced in January and referred to the Senate Finance Committee.