Attorney Juan Carlos Benitez serves as the chairman of Latte Training Academy, which provides vocational training to residents of the Northern Mariana Islands. The president of Washington Pacific Economic Development Group, LLC, Juan Carlos Benitez established the first Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project in the Marianas.
LIHTC is the US government’s primary federal subsidy to promote the development and rehabilitation of affordable homes for the low-income population. The program, established in 1986 by the Tax Reform Act, gives approximately 8 billion dollars to state and local agencies annually as tax credits for developing or rehabilitating affordable housing.
LIHTC has benefited communities in the Mariana Islands and across the United States in many ways. The main benefit is affordable housing, as close to 50 percent of LIHTC households have incomes below the federal poverty level, according to research by the NYU Furman Center. Another benefit is revitalized neighborhoods. Research has shown that LIHTC developments reduce poverty and crime and improve access to better quality education.
