Two additional census tracts in Puerto Rico have been designated as Opportunity Zones by the Treasury Department. The two tracts — 72119130102, located in Rio Grande, and 72137122002 located in Toa Baja — meet the statutory criteria for a Low-Income Community based on new American Community Survey data (2012-2016).
Today, President Trump signed Executive Order 13853, promoting public commitment to the opportunity zones program enacted last December as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The executive order establishes the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, led by HUD Secretary Ben Carson. The council is tasked with streamlining, coordinating, and targeting federal resources more efficiently into opportunity zones. The council will focus on economic development, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and crime prevention. Data collection will also be prioritized, in an effort to understand how opportunity zones investments are impacting communities. The White House said that 13 federal
Family offices and high net worth individuals: if you have questions about investing in opportunity zones, this is the episode for you. Joining me is DJ Van Keuren — a top 10 U.S. family office real estate professional. DJ literally wrote the book on family office real estate investing. He is also a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council, founder of the Family Office Real Estate Institute, and vice president of family office capital for the Hayman Family Office. Click the play button below to listen as DJ and I discuss how family offices can take advantage of the
A working group of accountants formed by Novogradac sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury last month, requesting further clarification in the wake of the proposed regulations (IRS REG-115420-18) published in October. In part, the letter states, “Taxpayer uncertainty around these issues is hindering investment in opportunity zones.” Taxpayers must invest capital gains into opportunity zone funds by the end of 2019 if they are to reap the full tax deferral benefit of the program. But with so much uncertainty, the clock is ticking fast. According to Financial Advisor IQ, the working group has requested guidance on the following: whether
Today’s guest is opportunity fund consultant David Sillaman, president and fund developer at Eazy Do It Opportunity Funds. Approximately $6.2 trillion in capital gains is eligible for investment in opportunity zone funds, with the potential to create a huge change across America. Some estimates expect $150-$250 billion to flow into these funds between now and the end of tax season. And for investors, the tax benefits of opportunity zone investing can be quite lucrative — deferred money in; tax-free growth money out. But creating an opportunity zone fund is not for the faint-hearted. That’s where David comes in. He’s an
Today’s guest is self-described “codehead” Tony Nitti, real estate tax law expert, CPA, and partner at WithumSmith+Brown. He also serves on the editorial advisory board for The Tax Adviser. And he’s a contributor at Forbes.com, where he recently published a thorough primer on the opportunity zones tax incentive. Click the play button below to listen as Tony and I dissect the basics of the opportunity zones tax code, explore some unintended consequences and loopholes introduced by the proposed IRS regulations, and discuss who the actual drivers behind most opportunity zone investments will be. Episode Highlights Who the drivers behind most
How much do you know about opportunity zones? Maybe you know the basics — that the opportunity zones program is an economic policy intended to revitalize some of the most economically distressed areas of the country, and that to encourage investment in such communities, huge tax benefits await investors. Capital gains deferral on the front end, as well as capital gains exclusion on the back end. But if you’re like most people, you only have a rough grasp of how it all works.
Most qualified opportunity zone funds are geared toward real estate. Because 90% of a fund’s assets must be held within OZ geographies, real estate investing is simpler than business venture investing. That said, the actual purpose of the legislation itself was to spark small business and entrepreneurship in oft-ignored areas of the country — not just real estate development. While venture investing may be a little trickier, Peter Brack and John Ryu of Hypothesis Ventures are among the first to spearhead the effort with their early-stage fund. From their interview with Barron’s, it’s clear that many venture funds are still
Due to the preferential treatment created for Puerto Rico in US Code Section 1400Z-1(b)(3), nearly the entire island is an opportunity zone. Governor Ricardo Roselló has estimated that the opportunity zones initiative “has the potential to inject more than $600 million in new investments into the local economy.” Earlier this week, the governor sent a bill to the U.S. territory’s Legislative Assembly that would establish advantageous tax treatment for new investments in Puerto Rico’s opportunity zones. According to Caribbean Business: The bill proposes an incentives framework for a period of 15 years, similar to other incentives already offered in Puerto
Professional tax advisor Tony Nitti of WithumSmith+Brown’s National Tax Service Group has an excellent and thorough (and at times humorous!) Q&A-format article on Forbes this week. The article dives headfirst into many of the subtle nuances of the legislation, dealing with original gain deferral, the 180-day window, qualified opportunity funds, OZ property, and tax savings. We start by accepting this: there are a LOT of moving parts to Section 1400Z-2. A lot of critical terms that sound very similar. And a lot of quantitative standards that must be met. We’re going to have to sort through all of this stuff,
OpportunityDb.com provides world-class tools, education, and analysis to help interested parties discover opportunities in the federal Opportunity Zones program.
