Opportunity Zones
By Amnon Cohen, Managing Director, Lever Capital Partners
Opportunity zones are areas designated by local governments that offer tax breaks under a new federal program. Investment firms have started to set up funds to distribute money specifically into these opportunity zones. There is a catch, every property within a qualified opportunity zone will not receive the same benefits.
There are multiple factors for investors to consider when it comes to investing money into opportunity zone properties. A few of these factors are, “the likelihood of getting a solid return on investment, the ability to quickly navigate the project approval process and the other programs that can be utilized alongside the opportunity zone benefit” (Banister).
“The industry was awaiting specific regulations from the Treasury Department, but experts believe it will allow investors to see significant increases in returns while also benefiting communities that otherwise might not attract as much investment. Develop founder Steve Glickman, who helped write the Opportunity Zone program while at the Economic Innovation Group, said the vision was to foster investment in low-income communities. But it was also important for local governments to select areas that could support private investment and create returns, and he said they did a good job of that. The census tracts selected cover 10% of the U.S. population, roughly 35 million people, and have an average poverty rate of about 30%” (Banister).
Here are the specifics:
-Gains can be reinvested into opportunity zones. If the project is held for longer than 5 years, 10% of the gains tax will be reduced
-If the project is held for 7 years 15% of the previous gains tax will be reduced
-If the project is held 10 years the any gains tax on the existing phttps://levercp.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=news_2roject will be eliminated
-Among the answers provided, the Treasury Department said that a business can qualify as being in an Opportunity Zone as long as 70% of its property is in the designated area.
-Another important data point: Investors have 180 days from the sale of their stock or business to put the proceeds in an opportunity fund.
-Businesses also get 30 months to hold working capital for an investment in the Opportunity Zone, just so long as there is specific plan for a project.