Treasury Department Releases Initial 'Opportunity Zones' Guidance

"The Treasury Department on Friday released its first round of rules and guidance on the federal Opportunity Zones program, which was created in the tax cut bill passed by Congress last year and uses large capital gains tax breaks to incentivize investment into designated low-income areas," reports Joe Sonka.

"While there is one final round of federal guidance for the program expected before the end of the year, a number of groups invested in the outcome of Opportunity Zones hailed last week’s rules for providing clarity on what type of investments would qualify for the tax break, and allowing flexibility for how and when such investments must be deployed into development and business projects," adds Sonka.

After the announcement of the new guidance from the Treasury Department, observers on either side of the aisle had less than enthusiastic responses to the newly revealed details of the program. Writing for the Center for American Progress, Olugbenga Ajilore argued that the program ignores low-income communities in favor of the wealthy and corporations. Writing for the Washington Examiner, Colin Wilhelm seems included to agree, claiming that the Treasury Department's guidance is a clear win for the real estate industry, with much less clear benefits for low-income Americans.

For more background, see previous Planetizen coverage of the Opportunity Zones program.