Happy National Forest Products Week
Each year, one week in October is designated as National Forest Products Week by presidential proclamation. This year, the week of Oct. 20–25 has been selected.
The proclamation focuses on healthy forests and climate change but highlights expanding wood product use as a way to support American workers in rural areas.
Preserving Estate Tax Benefits for Family Businesses
As mentioned last week, in addition to working with the House Ways and Means Committee on specific tax priorities, ABMA signed a letter led by the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition urging Congress to maintain reforms to estate and gift taxes. The letter advocates for preserving stepped-up basis for calculating capital gains when properties or businesses are sold and for maintaining current elevated estate tax exemption levels.
New Bill Offers Down Payment Support for First-Time Buyers
This week, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., introduced the American Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2024. The bill, which has yet to be assigned a number, seeks to help a potential Harris-Walz administration build 3 million new homes in its first term. Specifically, the legislation authorizes a down payment credit for first-time homebuyers of up to $50,000 and incentivizes new starter home construction through business credit initiatives. The credit increases if the purchaser is a first-time buyer.
Supporting documents for the bill note that the average age of a first-time buyer rose from 28 in 1991 to 35 in 2023. Additionally, starter home costs have increased by 54% over the past five years. While the bill is part of Vice President Harris’s platform on home affordability and new home construction, its future in Congress depends on the election outcome next month. ABMA will monitor developments closely.
Wood Building Material Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced yesterday that applications are open for three key programs to advance innovative wood building materials.
The programs—the Wood Innovations Grant (WIG), Community Wood and the Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs—were authorized by the Farm Bill and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Forest Service will distribute $34 million in grant funding for projects supporting wood building product manufacturing and renewable energy projects utilizing forest thinning material and sawdust.
The application deadline for WIG grants is Dec. 11, and Dec. 18 for the other two.
