"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - CN Businesses Awarded $60 Million

CATOOSA, Oklahoma - Cherokee Nation Businesses has been awarded $60 million in New Market Tax Credits, which can be used to encourage businesses to locate and expand operations in Northeastern Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation Businesses will offer the tax credits as incentives to companies who can bring jobs and economic opportunity to this region.

“Cherokee Nation Businesses is creating an environment for job creation and investment in our local communities,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Cherokee Nation and our businesses employ nearly 8,000 people, and these tax credits, coupled with other incentives, will help us bring in millions in private investment to create more jobs and further diversify our economy.”

The $60 million in tax credits are the largest ever granted to a tribally affiliated organization and the second largest allocation of New Market Tax Credits in Oklahoma history.

“Cherokee Nation Businesses is uniquely positioned to put these credits to good use,” said Brad Carson, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses. “We are always looking for ways to invest in the economy here in northeastern Oklahoma, and the New Market Tax Credits are another tool that will help us create jobs. The New Markets Tax Credit program is the most powerful economic development tool, and we are excited about how we can work with other businesses, communities, and the state of Oklahoma to bring economic growth to northeastern Oklahoma.”

Cherokee Nation Businesses was the only tribally affiliated entity in the nation to receive New Market Tax Credits this year, and its allocation was the largest of any organization seeking to use the tax credits in a localized region.

“We were competing against huge banking entities and major cities for this funding, and I think it says a lot about the staff at Cherokee Nation Businesses, as well as the economic opportunity here in northeastern Oklahoma, that we got such a large allocation of tax credits,” Carson said. “I also want to thank John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.) for supporting our application for these tax credits.”

New Market Tax Credits are allocated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. More information about the CDFI Fund and New Market Tax Credits is available on the CDFI Fund web site.

Cherokee Nation Businesses is a wholly owned corporation of the Cherokee Nation and serves as the holding company for all of the Cherokee Nation’s for-profit entities, including Cherokee Nation Enterprises and Cherokee Nation Industries. Cherokee Nation Businesses recently acquired an aerospace manufacturing company, APSE, and is expanding its broad portfolio of businesses. More information about Cherokee Nation Businesses is available at www.cherokeenationbusinesses.com.

About New Market Tax Credits:

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program permits taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs). Substantially, all of the qualified equity investment must in turn be used by the CDE to provide investments in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period. In each of the first three years, the investor receives a credit equal to 5 percent of the total amount paid for the stock or capital interest at the time of purchase. For the final four years, the value of the credit is 6 percent annually. Investors may not redeem their investments in CDEs prior to the conclusion of the seven-year period.

Throughout the life of the NMTC Program, the Fund is authorized to allocate to CDEs the authority to issue to their investors up to the aggregate amount of $19.5 billion in equity as to which NMTCs can be claimed, including $1 billion of special allocation authority to be used for the recovery and redevelopment of the Gulf Opportunity Zone.