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Communities Bonus Credit Amount Program for Tribes and Native Entities The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released the final rules and procedural guidance for the Clean Electricity Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Among Program (Section 48E(h)). This program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s changes to the Elect (also known as Direct) Pay tax.

Treasury is hosting a webinar, “Tribal and Native Entity Webinar: Overview of the Clean Electricity Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Amount Program for Tribes and Native Entities,” on Thursday, January 16th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time to provide an overview of the final regulation with a focus on aspects that impact Tribal governments and Native entities.

Register

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hosting a public hearing on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Entities Wholly Owned by Indian Tribal Governments” on January 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

To attend the hearing in person as a non-commenter, you must send an email to publichearings@irs.gov by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 15, 2025. The subject line of the email must contain the regulation number (REG-113628-21) and the language ATTEND In Person. For example, the subject line may say: “Request to ATTEND Hearing In Person for REG-113628-21.” Requests to attend the public hearing must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on January 15, 2025, to have your name added to the building access list.

Please note that the deadline to register and provide comments during the public hearing has passed; however, the January 15 deadline applies to those who wish to attend the hearing without providing testimony.

Template Letter for Tax Status of Wholly Owned Tribal Entities
Deadline: January 21, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Alaska Time to tribal.consult@treasury.gov.

NAFOA has created a template support letter for submitting comments on the proposed rule regarding the tax status of wholly owned Tribal entities. This rule aims to clarify the federal income tax status of these entities and expand Tribal access to clean energy tax credits. The template emphasizes support for the rule and calls for further guidance, particularly concerning subsidiary and partially owned entities.

Download the Template Letter (.docx)

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) provides free financial coaching to any American Indian and Alaska Native regardless of where they reside in the U.S. The coaching is available by phone and teleconference.

The financial coaching includes one-on-one credit counseling, homebuyer education, and basic budgeting. Since June 2020, ONAC has been offering three types of free financial coaching to tribal citizens across the United States: 1) credit counseling, 2) homebuyer education, and 3) financial management (i.e. budgeting). Confidential sessions are offered one-on-one, by teleconference (Zoom) or phone call, with a certified credit counselor, homebuyer education provider, and financial educator, either Felecia Freeman (Citizen Potawatomi) or Karen Edwards (Choctaw Nation). Typically, these sessions will last for an hour and are scheduled at a mutually agreeable time.

Source: Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Register

On December 17, 2024, the Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office announced an amendment to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes that will provide access to Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 formula grant allocations starting in February 2025.

The BIL will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy by enhancing U.S. competitiveness, creating good-paying union jobs, and ensuring access to economic, environmental, and other benefits for disadvantaged communities. The BIL appropriates more than $62 billion to DOE to invest in American manufacturing and workers, expand access to energy efficiency, deliver reliable, clean, and affordable power to more Americans, and deploy the technologies of tomorrow through clean energy demonstrations.

The program will distribute funding to states, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations, over five years based on a formula that includes factors such as population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts. The states, territories, and Indian tribes will then award these funds to a diverse set of projects, prioritizing efforts that generate the greatest community benefit by providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy.

Source: American Indian Policy Institute Learn More

We’re seeking a full-time Policy Specialist to join our remote team. The position plays a crucial role in advancing tribal economies and strengthening tribal finance through policy research, analysis, and advocacy at the federal level. The Policy Specialist conducts comprehensive research on federal policies affecting tribal economies, analyzes proposed legislation and regulations, and assesses their potential impact on tribal governments and enterprises.

Learn More & Apply at nafoa.org/jobs