HUD and SEC Encouraging Opportunity Zone Investment

On Tuesday, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson released a statement applauding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) efforts to encourage Main Street capital investment in Opportunity Zones. 

“Opportunity Zones provide a community-specific incentive for long-term investment,” said SEC Chairman Clayton.  “The SEC staff statement and guidance about Opportunity Zones demonstrate that Main Street investors can invest in their communities in a manner that is compliant with our securities laws.” Read more about the SEC’s staff statement on Opportunity Zones here.

“Opportunity Zones have the ability to enhance thousands of communities and improve millions of lives across the country,” said HUD Secretary Carson. “The steps the SEC has taken will help unlock more investments into Opportunity Zones, and more investment means better outcomes for the residents of these distressed communities.”

In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, creating Opportunity Zones to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. The initiative offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas, and the tax incentives are anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment in Opportunity Zones.

On Fox News’ "The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton” earlier this year, Carson noted that Opportunity Zones were set up to enable private investors to re-invest profits into designated areas, and investors “are going to invest that money somewhere.” He noted private investors would do what they do because they “want to be successful.”

Charles Tassell, COO for the National Real Estate Investors Association, talked opportunity zones in the March issue of DS News.

“Whether you call them Opp-Zones, OZones, or OZos, the investment flood is coming to a low-income census tract near you,” said Tassell.

“While digesting the rules, it would be a good idea to find out where those areas are near you and prepare for investments and options for investments there—before the December 31, 2026 deadline,” Tassell added. “The summary of benefits includes deferred taxes on the investment in an opportunity zone, deferred taxes on income reinvested in opportunity zones, and tax forgiveness on improvements in the value of the building at sale time in opportunity zones—if it is held for 10 years.”