SEC Company Response from WNC CALIFORNIA HOUSING TAX CREDITS LP (CIK 0000845750) — Jan 28, 2005
WNC CALIFORNIA HOUSING TAX CREDITS LP (CIK 0000845750)
Date: Jan. 28, 2005 · CIK: 0000845750 · Accession: 0001084067-05-000019
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: December 22, 2004
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January 27, 2005
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Mail Stop 0409
450 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: WNC California Housing Tax Credits, L.P.
Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2004
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004
File No. 0-20058
Dear Mr. Jacobs:
The registrant is in receipt of your letter dated December 22, 2004
respecting the referenced matters. Responses to the comments included in your
letter are set forth below, numbered to correspond to the numbering system
utilized in your letter.
The registrant's auditors furnished the registrant with the following
letter in response to comment 1:
Mr. Tom Riha, Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Melanie Wenk, Director of Partnership Accounting
WNC & Associates, Inc.
17782 Sky Park Circle
Irvine, CA 92614
WNC California Housing Tax Credits, L.P.
WNC California Housing Tax Credits II, L.P.
WNC California Housing Tax Credits III, L.P.
(each referred to herein as a "Partnership")
Dear Mr. Riha and Ms. Wenk:
We have received your fax of the comment letters for the
above referenced entities dated December 22, 2004, from Steven
Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant, Division of Corporate Finance,
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. At your
request, we are providing you the following supplemental
explanation in response to Comment Number 1 of Mr. Jacobs letters
in regards to our Reports of Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm dated as follows:
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 27, 2005
Page 2
WNC California Housing Tax Credits, L.P. - June 18, 2004
WNC California Housing Tax Credits II, L.P. - June 24, 2004
WNC California Housing Tax Credits III, L.P. - June 15, 2004
The explanatory paragraph in our audit report does not
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reflect a conclusion by our Firm that substantial doubt exists as
to the Partnership's ability to continue as a going concern for a
reasonable period of time, as contemplated by AU Section 341.
Accordingly, disclosures required by AU Section 341, when such a
conclusion is reached by the auditor, are omitted from our audit
reports.
The basis for the inclusion of an explanatory paragraph in
our audit report is within AU Section 508.19. As contemplated by
AU Section 508.19, "In any report on financial statements, the
auditor may emphasize a matter regarding the financial
statements. Such explanatory information should be presented in a
separate paragraph of the auditor's report." Additionally, as
addressed in AU Section 508.19 emphasis paragraphs are never
required; however they may be added solely at the auditor's
discretion.
A critical element identified by us in your plans to
overcome each Partnership's inability to continue to meet its
ongoing obligations as they become due, is the General Partner's
(WNC & Associates, Inc.) continued ability to perform services
and meet its obligation as general partner for all debts,
liabilities and other obligations of the Partnership to the
extent not paid by the Partnership. Historically the
Partnership's obligations have principally consisted of legal and
audit professional fees incurred with third parties and asset
management fees incurred with the General Partner. The conclusion
reached by us, after performing auditing procedures and
evaluating evidence obtained to evaluate this significant element
of management's plans, was that substantial doubt was alleviated.
However, given the Partnership's reliance on the General Partner
and the Partnership's inability to control the future conditions
or events of its General Partner, we concluded that a paragraph
to the audit report to emphasize this matter disclosed in the
financial statements was appropriate.
As affirmed by the Auditing Standards Board as recently as
September 15, 2004, the use of the emphasis of matter paragraph
continues to be a matter of professional judgment. We believe
such judgment was appropriately applied and consistent with the
examples provided in AU 508.19.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 27, 2005
Page 3
We trust that we have completely addressed the comment
raised in Mr. Jacobs comment letter. If you should have any
further questions or comments on this matter, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Reznick Group, P.C.
/s/ Kirk Rogers
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Kirk Rogers
Principal
2. Please be advised that the registrant believes that the distinction
between "capital reserves in excess of future foreseeable working capital
requirements" and "cash resources sufficient to meet existing contractual cash
obligations" can be best clarified by the following proposed modification to the
disclosure in future filings:
"Anticipated future and existing cash resources of the Partnership are not
sufficient to pay existing liabilities of the Partnership. However,
substantially all of the existing liabilities of the Partnership are payable to
the General Partner and/or its affiliates. Though the amounts payable to the
General Partner and/or its affiliates are contractually currently payable, the
Partnership anticipates that the General Partner and/or its affiliates will not
require the payment of these contractual obligations until capital reserves are
in excess of the aggregate of then existing contractual obligations and then
anticipated future foreseeable obligations of the Partnership. The Partnership
would be adversely affected should the General Partner and/or its affiliates
demand current payment of the existing contractual obligations and or suspend
services for this or any other reason."
3. Please be advised that, in future filings in the first paragraph under
the section entitled "Method of Accounting for Investments in Limited
Partnerships" and in the similar disclosure in footnote 2, the registrant will
revise its disclosures to consistently use the term "sum" rather than "product."
4. As disclosed in the first two sentences of the second paragraph under
the section entitled "Method of Accounting for Investments in Limited
Partnerships" :
"Equity in losses of Local Limited Partnerships for each year ended March
31 have been recorded by the Partnership based on nine months of reported
results provided by the Local Limited Partnerships for each year ended
December 31 and on three months of results estimated by management of the
Partnership. Management's estimate for the three-month period is based on
either actual unaudited results reported by the Local Limited Partnerships
or historical trends in the operations of the Local Limited Partnerships."
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 27, 2005
Page 4
The registrant believes that clarification to the foregoing can be achieved
in future filings by inserting the following sentence after the foregoing, and
before the balance of such paragraph:
"In subsequent annual financial statements, upon receiving the actual
annual results reported by the Local Limited Partnerships, management
reverses its prior estimate and records the actual results reported by the
Local Limited Partnerships."
5. Please be advised that, consistent with paragraph 29 of the
Interpretation, the registrant adopted FIN 46(R) effective for the year ended
March 31, 2004. Inadvertently, the registrant did not remove the word
"preliminarily" which had been included in filings prior to the registrant's
adoption of the Interpretation. Please be advised that the registrant will
remove the word "preliminarily" from all filings made subsequent hereto.
With its adoption of FIN 46(R), the registrant has concluded that each of
the Local Limited Partnerships is not a Variable Interest Entity (VIE).
Furthermore, the registrant has determined that the equity method is the
appropriate means of accounting for these limited partnership interests. An
explanation of these conclusions follows.
FIN 46(R). The registrant's assessment of the Local Limited Partnerships
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and the application of FIN 46(R) to such investments was based upon the three
criteria for assessing whether an entity is a VIE, as discussed in paragraphs
5.a, b, and c of the Interpretation.
a. Equity Investment at Risk. Section 5.a of FIN 46(R) is summarized as
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follows: The total equity investment at risk is not sufficient to permit the
entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial
support provided by any parties, including equity holders.
Please be advised that each of the registrant's Local Limited Partnerships
was formed specifically for the purpose of developing and operating a single
residential rental property that is eligible for low income housing tax credits.
As required by the tax credit program, Local Limited Partnerships must be
designed to be self-sustaining and operationally viable from inception. Each of
the Local Limited Partnerships has a financial structure consisting of
non-recourse mortgage loan or loans, deferred development fees and owner equity.
Due to their deemed operational viability from inception, no additional sources
of capital were contemplated as necessary as the formation of these entities.
Additionally, the registrant evaluated the equity at risk for both the limited
and general equity interests in each Local Limited Partnership and has concluded
that the parties have sufficient equity at risk over the life of the Local
Limited Partnership to finance its activities.
b. Controlling Financial Interest. Section 5.b of FIN 46(R) is summarized
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as follows: The equity investors lack one or more of the following three
characteristics of a controlling financial interest: (1) The direct or indirect
ability to make decisions about the entity's activities through voting rights or
similar rights; (2) The obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity;
or (3) The right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 27, 2005
Page 5
Please be advised that the registrant has evaluated the general and limited
equity interests in each Local Limited Partnership. In each case, the holders of
the equity interest are the only entities which possess the ability through
voting or other rights to make decisions about the Local Limited Partnership's
activities. Accordingly, ownership attributes are not possessed by anyone other
than the equity interest holders of a Local Limited Partnership. Those equity
interests are obligated to absorb expected losses as illustrated within appendix
A of FIN 46(R). Additionally, the general and limited equity interests do
possess the right to residual returns (although such residual returns are
unlikely to occur as discussed below).
Based on the foregoing, the registrant believes that the general and
limited equity interests possess a controlling financial interest.
c. Proportionate Interests. Section 5.c of FIN 46(R) is summarized as
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follows: The equity investors have voting rights that are not proportionate to
their obligations to absorb the expected losses, or to their economic interests,
and the activities of the entity involve or are conducted on behalf of an
investor with a disproportionately small voting interest.
Please be advised that the voting rights of the equity investors are
proportionate to their obligations to absorb the expected losses and to their
economic interests. Moreover, for each of the Local Limited Partnerships, future
cash flows generated beyond operations is not expected. The economic benefit of
these entities is derived from the respective tax credits. The limited equity
investor primarily derives its returns and value based upon those credits and
other tax benefits (depreciation, amortization, etc.). Those economic benefits
are shared proportionately based strictly upon ownership interest. In each of
these Local Limited Partnerships, the general equity interest is entitled to a
disproportionate share of residual cash flow. However, the realization of such
cash flows is unlikely due to design and restriction of disposition of the
underlying property by statute. In addition to the limited probability of such
cash flows, should anticipated cash flows be projected by any Local Limited
Partnership, for the typical Local Limited Partnership the realization thereof
is projected so far into to the future as to make the present value thereof
nominal. Therefore, the registrant has determined there is no disproportionate
sharing of economic interest relative to voting interests, as contemplated under
paragraph c.
d. Conclusion. The registrant has concluded that the Local Limited
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Partnerships are not VIEs. Accordingly, the registrant need not determined who
is the primary beneficiary of the Local Limited Partnerships.
Equity Method Accounting, Impairment and Reassessment of FIN 46(R)
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Having concluded that each of these Local Limited Partnerships is not a
VIE, the registrant has evaluated the accounting for its investment in Local
Limited Partnerships and determined the equity method to be most appropriate in
these circumstances. In each case, the
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 27, 2005
Page 6
registrant's investment exceeds 95%, and in all cases the registrant's liability
is limited to the amount of its original equity investment. As noted before,
these single-property entities are financed with debt that is non-recourse. The
registrant evaluated the terms of the partnership agreements governing the Local
Limited Partnerships and found that, while it does have rights that allow the
registrant to protect its investment, those rights are not substantial enough to
allow the registrant to control the