In 1986, Congress created the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program to stimulate private sector investment in the development and preservation of affordable housing. In August 1993, the program was made permanent to enable it to continue addressing the alarming disparity between the supply of, and demand for, affordable housing. Government statistics reveal that by 1996 a shortage of 5.2 million affordable units existed and the shortage is expected to increase to nearly 8 million units by the year 2000. The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program is an attractive tax planning vehicle for corporations and financial institutions interested in achieving significant after-tax returns, while also providing the necessary capital for affordable housing development. Participation in the Investment Partnership offers a corporation the opportunity to increase net income, earnings per share, and cash flow without diverting capital from its core business. All of these benefits flow to an investor independent of the economic benefits, if any, that might be derived from the underlying real estate.  Edit