Quarterly: Spring 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Spring 2004 Issue

Lack of DC Vote Endangers Enterprise Zone Tax Incentives

by Mary Rudolph, Vice President of Public Policy/DC

The lack of a vote in Congress for the District of Columbia could kill Enterprise Zone Federal Tax Incentives in the District.

In 2003, GWCAR and a coalition of other business organizations labored to get the Enterprise Zone Incentives (along with the First Time Homebuyer Credit) extended past their December 2003 expiration date. We met with many representatives in the House and Senate, worked with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's staff and delivered GWCAR member letters to Senators from Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Mississippi, New York and elsewhere.

Finally-in late November-we were gratified to get help from Virginia Congressman Tom Davis, and from Senators Baucus and Grassley among others. The language was attached to a bill that looked like it would get to Conference Committee, so the House and Senate could work out their differences. Unfortunately, in the wake of the vote on Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits, the two major parties were back at war and our measure was an unintended victim.

GWCAR staff and their business allies vowed to start again in January 2004. Meanwhile, the European Union had begun imposing trade sanctions on the U.S. because of an international business tax situation. A bill was introduced to cure the problem and an extension of the Enterprise Zone incentives was introduced as an amendment to the Senate bill by Senators Grassley and Baucus, giving us bipartisan support. A similar-but not similar enough-bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Ways & Means in the House. A number of amendments were attached to the bill that emerged from that committee causing partisan division and in late March the House bill died. Another battle ensued on the Senate side and the senate bill appears to have died as well.

While it is still remotely possible that we will find another bill to carry the extension of the DC Enterprise Zone incentives before Congress goes home, this story highlights why a voting seat for DC in Congress is so very important to you as a commercial REALTOR^®. Delegate Norton fights every day on behalf of the District, but until she (and whoever succeeds her one day) has a vote to trade and negotiate with, DC's interests and concerns will always be somewhere down near the bottom of every House and Senate priority list.

The Washington, DC Association of REALTORS^® is holding the Second Annual Washington Tea (& Wine) Party reception at the NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings here in Washington on May 12. We want to continue to educate NAR visitors from all over the world about how things work in the nation's capital. It may be a useful avenue to put members of Congress on notice that we believe a vote in Congress for the District of Columbia is a business matter and, more importantly, a REALTOR^® issue.

If you are planning to participate in the Midyear Legislative Meetings, you will have an opportunity to offer your two cents on this and other bread-and-butter commercial REALTOR^® issues. Look for your invitation and details to the right and in future editions of Newsclips. We hope to see you there.