Oklahoma looks forward to new capital investments and the creation of jobs through the recent award received by Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. (REI) to administer New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) totaling $39 million. REI has been authorized by the U. S. Treasury Department to administer the NMTC program which provides a 39 percent federal income tax credit for investments into qualifying businesses in low income communities.
Over 250 applications for the NMTC incentive were submitted from across the nation and REI was the only Oklahoma organization successful in receiving authorization. Previously, the organization received $136 million in tax credit authority resulting in projects totaling $360,402,708 in economic impact and creating/retaining 2,462 jobs. Projects incentivized through the NMTC program included health care facilities in Muskogee, Stigler and Tulsa, the restoration of Oklahoma City’s historic Skirvin Hotel, a milling company in Cushing and numerous others. These projects have provided the opportunity to catalyze additional private impacts through additional developments. Good examples are health care projects which lead to expanded services and construction of additional facilities while manufacturing projects bring in additional investments through expansion and improvement of infrastructure.
“REI’s award is good news because this program will help create more private sector jobs and foster a business climate that will attract new capital and new investments in areas that need it most,” Governor Mary Fallin said, “It’s also good news for existing Oklahoma companies that need to grow and expand their operations to improve profitability and create more jobs.”
REI will target its NMTC allocation to provide flexible business financing to community-based healthcare centers, small and emerging manufactures and other expansion stage businesses in economically distressed areas of Oklahoma. Other areas of focus are businesses in rural areas and Native American enterprises.
“I understand that 86 percent of Oklahoma’s counties are designated medically-underserved, so I’m very pleased that health care will be a major focus of the tax credit program,” said Clayton Taylor, REI Board chairman. “The well-being of our workforce is a vital component to attracting new investments and advancing existing businesses.”