Request for Public Comment: Allocation and Qualified Equity Investment Tracking System

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 10413 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), U.S. Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) Allocation and Qualified Equity Investment (AQEI) Tracking System.

The Department of the Treasury, through the CDFI Fund, administers the NMTC Program, which provides an incentive to investors in the form of tax credits over seven years and stimulates the provision of private investment capital that, in turn, facilitates economic and community development in low-income communities. In order to qualify for an allocation of NMTC authority, an entity must be certified as a qualified Community Development Entity and submit an allocation application to the CDFI Fund. Upon receipt of such applications, the CDFI Fund conducts a competitive review process to evaluate applications for the receipt of NMTC allocations. Entities selected to receive an NMTC allocation must enter into an Allocation Agreement with the CDFI Fund. The Allocation Agreement contains the terms and conditions, including all reporting requirements, associated with the receipt of a NMTC allocation. The CDFI Fund requires each Allocatee to use an electronic data collection and submission system, known as the Allocation and Qualified Equity Investment (AQEI) Tracking System, to report on the information related to its receipt of a Qualified Equity Investment.

The previous name for this data collection system was the Allocation Tracking System (ATS). The CDFI Fund developed the AQEI Tracking System to, among other things: (1) enhance the Allocatee's ability to report to the CDFI Fund timely information regarding the issuance of its Qualified Equity Investments; (2) enhance the CDFI Fund's ability to monitor the issuance of Qualified Equity Investments to ensure that no Allocatee exceeds its allocation authority and to ensure that Qualified Equity Investments are issued within the timeframes required by the Allocation Agreement and IRC 45D; and (3) provide the CDFI Fund with basic investor data that can be aggregated and analyzed in connection with NMTC Program evaluation efforts.

Comments are invited on: (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services required to provide information.

Comments must be submitted in writing by 60 days after the date of publication of the Federal Register notice via email to Tanya McInnis, Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation (CCME) Program Manager, CDFI Fund, at ccme@cdfi.treas.gov.

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