State NMTC Programs

Oregon New Markets Tax Credit

In 2011, Oregon established the Oregon Low Income Community Jobs Initiative, also known as the Oregon New Markets Tax Credit program. This program was created to attract capital in low-income and underserved communities.

The Oregon New Markets Tax Credit program offers tax credits to investors who support businesses in the state’s federally designated low-income areas.

Similar to the federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, Oregon NMTCs are designed to encourage job growth and retention in communities that historically aren’t served by traditional sources of investment capital. Without this program in place, Oregon’s low-income areas would have less investment, fewer jobs, decreased tax revenues, reduced access to social services and less vibrant communities.

Since launching, the program has been a success across the state and has attracted more than $200 million in private investment. This has resulted in 2,132 jobs created or retained, positively affecting more than 30 communities through 37 projects across the state.

• State, nonprofits put money to reopening closed Ontario onion factory – This article from The Oregonian focuses on bringing hundreds of rural jobs back to an underserved community.
• Breaking the mold in metal manufacturing – An article published in The Dalles Chronicle discusses how SBDC Capital Access, which specializes in helping “small businesses and start-ups find money when they can’t get it from banks,” is helping a rural manufacturing project.
• Advantage Dental has been expanding, including La Pine Clinic – An article in the Bend Bulletin mentions NMTCs, noting how an investment covered 34 clinics in nine communities.
• Coquille Tribe regains 3,200 acres of forested ancestral homeland in Oregon – This article, by the Indian Country Media Network, discusses how NMTCs funded a loan for the Coquille Tribe.
• Coos History Museum Opening – In a speech, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown specifically mentions NMTCs as playing an integral role in making an Oregon Coast project a reality.
• $2.5M expansion means lots more kombucha and, soon, distilled spirits for Portland teamaker – Published by the Portland Business Journal (PBJ), this article focuses on the expansion of a small business with strong local roots. Oregon’s NMTC program is specifically referenced as providing the vast majority of funding.
• Hacienda gets $18M to build out Southeast Portland – Another article published by the Portland Business Journal shows how minority-owned businesses benefit from NMTCs. The article mentions $10 million of funding will come from federal tax credits and $8 million from state funding.
• Chaucer Foods announces plans to bring 73 jobs to Forest Grove food processing facility – An article from The Oregonian describes a job-providing manufacturing project that illustrates the significance of both the federal and Oregon NMTC programs.