On October 19, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed regulations regarding Opportunity Zones designed to encourage economic development by providing tax benefits to individuals who invest money into projects that are located in certain designated districts. The regulations are not yet final and are subject to change, but according to the recently proposed regulations, investors may be able to defer capital-gains taxes for 10 years on prior investments if the gains are transferred to Opportunity Zone investments and certain other conditions are met.
Delegate Advisors President and Chief Advisor Andy Hart recently spoke with American Banker to provide insights on the specific advantages of these investments. In the article, Hart describes how Opportunity Zone investments can be extremely appealing to individuals who are interested in avoiding a huge tax bill on a corporate stock that has skyrocketed in value. “For a person who’s got a lot to gain in a highly appreciated tech stock, they’re going to look for Opportunity Zone investments,” states Hart.
Hart goes onto to explain that tax cuts introduced by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have not lessened the appeal of other types of tax benefits. Even with the federal tax cuts, individuals are still searching for other ways to minimize capital gains taxes. Because Opportunity Zone investments may enable capital gains taxes to be deferred for close to a decade and possess the potential to increase in value, it is no surprise that these investments could become an attractive option for investors.
Subscribers to American Banker can read the entire article here.