Business Notes: June 21, 2015
White River Junction — Mascoma Savings Bank has been allocated $55 million in federal tax credit authority by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
The New Market Tax Credit Program enables economically distressed communities to access private investment capital by providing investors with a federal tax credit worth 39 percent of their original investment amount over a seven-year period.
All program investments, most of which are made within low-income communities, must meet statutory qualifications for investors to be able to claim the credit.
The program was authorized by Congress in 2000 as a federal tax incentive program to help spur investment in small businesses, nonprofits and commercial real estate developments in economically distressed communities.
Mascoma Savings Bank is the first New Hampshire institution in three years to be funded as one of the program’s “Community Development Entities,” the bank said in a news release.
Community Development Entities act as links to private sector investors, businesses and developers and serve as intermediaries in providing loans, investment or financial counseling in low-income communities.
“Over the past six years, Mascoma Savings Bank has been involved in eight (New Market Tax Credit) projects,” Richard Jennings, senior vice president at the bank, said in the release.
“These projects in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have included a total of more than $162 million in new investment with Mascoma Savings Bank providing direct and leverage debt of $97 million while working with seven different (Community Development Entities).”
Federally subsidized tax credits work as incentives for individual and corporate investors to invest in projects that create jobs, revitalize downtown centers, provide educational opportunities and improve access to health care, among other endeavors.
“The small boost that the (New Market Tax Credit) provides goes a long way to generate large investments, leading to substantial community improvements,” Jennings said.
Company News
The Lyme Inn has received a Certificate of Excellence award from the travel website TripAdvisor. The 5-year-old award is based on the quality and quantity of reviews and opinions submitted to the website by travelers over a 12-month period, as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the site’s “Popularity Index.”
Upcoming Event
Upper Valley chapter of SCORE is offering a workshop on crowd funding on Thursday, from 6-9 p.m., at 20 West Park St., Lebanon, Suite 316, in the Citizens Bank Building. The workshop will address the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. It will be co-presented by Derrick Wong, CEO of Winning Solutions Advisory of Merrimack, N.H., a strategic advisory firm, and Pui Yee, who has 20 years of project management and people management experience with IBM. Cost is $30, two for $45. Veterans free. For more information and to reserve a spot, visit http://www.uppervalley.score.org or call 603-448-3491.
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