Training sessions were held in Pierre and Bismarck in early September to provide vital information about the $50 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to Dakotas America LLC for use in North and South Dakota. The training brought together financial professionals and community development leaders to learn ways to utilize this resource in their communities.

The training sessions were sponsored by South Dakota Rural Enterprise and Rural Development Finance Corporation, partners in Dakotas America LLC, which has been awarded a $50 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation. This 39% federal tax credit is designed to stimulate economic investment in distressed and low-income communities. Dakotas America will assign its allocation to investors in specific projects that are being developed in distressed areas in rural North and South Dakota.

An investor receives the tax credit over seven years at the rate of 5-6% per year. That credit can be used against the investor’s other income sources and it can be applied in conjunction with other incentive programs used for the project. This makes the program highly attractive to many investors, creating sources of capital that might not otherwise be available to a project, or creating superior investment terms for the project. Qualified investors can be corporations, partnerships or individuals.       

Owen P. Gray, CPA, a partner in the San Francisco office of Novogradac & Company LLP led the training program. Gray is a specialist in the new markets tax credit and low-income housing tax credit industries. A frequent speaker at national industry-sponsored workshops, Gray is technical editor of the monthly NMTC Report. His firm, Novogradac & Company, is a national certified public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Atlanta, Boston and throughout the US. The company has emerged as a leading authority in the New Markets Tax Credit program, a significant public and private partnership created to encourage investors to make investments in distressed communities and promote the development of successful businesses in those communities.

The Dakotas America Governing Board convened in Aberdeen between the two training sessions. That board consists of members from North and South Dakota, including Cheryl Chapman, Native American Environmental; Rod Fouberg, Dacotah Banks, Inc.; Bobby Koepplin, Cass County Electric Cooperative; Tony Messmer, Messmer Red Angus Ranch; William Patrie, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund; John Porter, Avera Health; JoAnn, Rodenbiker, Northern Plains Electric Cooperative, and Linda Salmonson, REED Fund.             For more information on New Markets Tax Credit, go to the website at www.dakotasamerica.com.

2006 AUTUMN REPORT
	Statewide groups strategize for future
	Micro-enterprise a major priority
	Combine products to boost development
	Training sessions put NMTC to work
	Ten years - and growing stronger
	Meadowlark Project

ND business leaders meet for NMTC training in Bismarck