Pictured: Jonathan Stoneburner with Congressman Ben Cline from Virginia.
Pictured: Virginia Lewis, Mark Warner's aid, Jonathan Stoneburner, Craig Fritsche, Freddie Siewers and Paul Ryan
They addressed the following NLBMDA Issue Topics:
Background: Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: NLBMDA is working with House and Senate lawmakers to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which would build millions of additional homes over the next ten years. NLBMDA has been lobbying members of Congress to cosponsor and advance the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) (H.R.3238/S.1557), which would boost state allocations for the LIHTC for 10 years and streamline the building process. That bill now has 214 House and 30 Senate fully bipartisan cosponsors (50% Democrats, 50% Republicans).
- Notably, the bipartisan tax package recently unveiled in January contained several provisions from AHCIA, including a temporary restoration of a 12.5% boost in LIHTC allocations that expired in 2022. In addition to the 12.5% increase for LIHTC allocations, the bipartisan tax bill also lowers the Private Activity Bond (PAB) threshold test from 50% to 30% for properties financed with multifamily 4% LIHTC housing bonds issued before 2026, a big win for affordable housing developers that will build over 200,000 new housing units nationwide over the next two years. This is a big win for homebuilders and LBM dealers. The House passed the bill on January 31 by a vote of 357-70. It is now awaiting Senate action.
Click here for a 1 pager that explains what a transaction is and why this legislation matters – also produced in partnership with the Merchants Payments Coalition.
Background: Over the last two years, NLBMDA has been a fierce advocate of legislation that would prevent rising credit card swipe fees on LBM dealers. NLBMDA is lobbying Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act (H.R.3881/S.1838), landmark banking reform that will limit big banks from increasing credit card swipe fees on LBM dealers by allowing retailers to access more credit card payment network options outside of Visa and Mastercard. Visa and Mastercard currently control 80% of the U.S. credit card market and hold a near-monopoly over credit card processing. That allows them to continue increasing fees while charging small retailers more than 2% of the customer’s total bill every time a credit card is used to make a purchase. Lack of competition results in high fees. There are a dozen competitive networks that could process credit card transactions. However, the dominant credit card networks have blocked them from entering the market. With few people using cash today, LBM dealers typically have no choice but to accept cards for payment, making it the highest cost of doing business for most small retailers after labor. Credit card swipe fees have more than doubled over the past decade and soared 16.7% in 2022 alone to a record $160.7 billion, up from the previous record of $137.8 billion in 2021. Credit card swipe fees amount to about $900 a year for the average family, and small businesses could save upward of $11 billion annually by bringing routing competition to credit card networks. In July 2023, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) attempted to offer this bill as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023, a must-pass national defense bill. He withdrew the amendment after cutting a deal with Senate leadership to hold a floor vote later in the year. That potential vote hit a roadblock at the end of 2023 when the Speaker of House was removed, delaying consequential legislation and relevant legislative vehicles from being considered. NLBMDA is working with coalition leaders on Capitol Hill fly-ins and congressional meetings to secure both a Senate Judiciary Hearing and a Senate Banking Hearing targeting credit card companies in the spring of 2024. NLBMDA is working with our champions in Congress to find a moving legislative vehicle.
Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R.7024)
Background: In January, Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) announced a $78 billion bipartisan tax package that retroactively extends several key business tax breaks until 2025 and temporarily restores a 12.5% boost in state allocations for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) that expired in 2022. In addition to the 12.5% increase for LIHTC allocations, the bill also lowers the Private Activity Bond (PAB) threshold test from 50% to 30% for properties financed with multifamily 4% LIHTC housing bonds issued before 2026, a big win for affordable housing developers that will build over 200,000 new housing units nationwide over the next two years. The tax legislation would also reestablish immediate research and development (R&D) expensing for businesses and expand the child tax credit for families. Importantly for LBM dealers, the tax deal restores 100% bonus depreciation on the purchase of equipment (machinery, computers, trucks, etc.) until 2025 and allows depreciation and amortization to be used in the calculation of how debt can be deducted under Section 163(j). The $78 billion legislation is financed by ending the Employee Retention Tax Credit and accelerating the deadline for filing backdated claims to January 31, 2024. NLBMDA has heavily lobbied lawmakers over the last year for both the small business tax relief measures and the expansion of the LIHTC to build more housing across the country and urges Congress to pass this bipartisan deal that supports LBM dealers and strengthens the national housing market. The House passed the bill on January 31 by a vote of 357-70. It is now awaiting Senate action.
Background: NLBMDA is working with the House Ways & Means Committee to lobby for a permanent extension of the 100% bonus depreciation tax provision that was temporarily enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts of 2017. This is an important tax savings tool for LBM dealers that allows businesses to take an immediate deduction on the cost of eligible business property (machinery, computers, trucks, equipment, etc.) in the first year it’s placed in service. This lowers a company’s tax liability because it reduces their taxable income. However, beginning in 2023, 100% bonus depreciation is being phased-out by 20% each year until it expires in 2027. Businesses are now only able to deduct 80% of their capital investments for 2023, which will fall to 60% in 2024, 40% in 2025, and then 20% in 2026. By 2027, there will be no bonus depreciation allowed for these investments at all. Limiting this critical deduction for LBM dealers will reduce investment, resulting in fewer jobs, lower wages, and slower economic growth. In January, House and Senate leaders announced a bipartisan tax package that would extend 100% bonus depreciation through 2025. The House passed the bill on January 31 by a vote of 357-70. It is now awaiting Senate action. This would be a big win for LBM dealers. Further, NLBMDA continues to lobby lawmakers in support of the (ALIGN) Act (H.R.2406/S.1117), which would make 100% bonus depreciation permanent and cancel any phasedowns. That bill has 37 House and 13 Senate cosponsors.