Housing Leaders Urge Support for AHCIA and Other Tax Incentives

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on tax policy’s role in increasing affordable housing.

By Donna Kimura

Supporting the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) is the most important move that lawmakers can make for affordable housing in their state, said Steve Walker, executive director of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Representing the nation’s state housing finance agencies, he testified at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on tax policy’s role in increasing the affordable housing supply.

Walker noted that the Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and other legislators are poised to reintroduce the AHCIA, which seeks to expand the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program.

“The housing credit program is our nation’s most effective tool,” he said. “It’s not the only tool, but it is the most effective tool for this challenge—building affordable housing. The truth is the private sector simply cannot and does not produce apartments at rents that low-income folks can afford.”