By John Egan | National Real Estate Investor
The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created the Opportunity Zone program, an initiative touted by the Trump administration as a vehicle for spurring investment in economically distressed pockets of the country. Today, more than 8,700 of these zones have been designated. As of the end of 2019, Opportunity Zone funds had collected more than $75 billion in private capital for an array of real estate projects.
The Trump administration hails the Opportunity Zone program as a success. A report released in August by the White House Council of Economic Advisers promoted the potential of these zones “to further prosperity and self-sufficiency in those areas that most lack it.”
Yet the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden believes the Opportunity Zone program itself is lacking. Biden and his team contend that the program has fallen short of its promise of bolstering communities of color, small businesses and homeowners. Meanwhile, the Biden team insists, too many real estate investors are capitalizing on the program solely to line their pockets with cash. Biden’s campaign website cites an Urban Institute report that found the program is “not living up to its economic and community development goals.”
