Ja’Ron Smith, special assistant to the President for the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, joined a panel of experts to discuss Opportunity Zones at the ICSC Mid‑Atlantic Conference and Deal Making event on March 4, 2019.
Smith expects more regulations to be released shortly that will provide additional rules about how the Opportunity Zone funds should operate. He also noted that the Administration will soon hire an Executive Director to coordinate efforts across the Agencies to help drive additional resources into the zones.
Smith has been traveling the country getting feedback from local officials, constituent groups, and developers. ICSC submitted comments in December, along with many others.
The Opportunity Zones program was created by the 2017 tax reform law to spur investment into distressed communities. Investors can defer taxes on capital gains invested into the Zones. Investments held for 10 years or more may pay no taxes on subsequent gains if certain requirements are met. The program is anticipated to spur $100 billion in private investment into these distressed areas by tapping gains in the stock market and other sources.
According to panelist Jair Lynch, of Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners in Washington, DC, the program has great potential to attract the type of patient capital needed to improve these areas. Ben Seigel, who is the OZ Coordinator for the City of Baltimore, encouraged developers to work with their local economic officials to find potential funders.
The panel also included Loren Ponds of Miller & Chevalier and former tax counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, and Thomas Skinner, who leads Redbrick LMD development efforts in Washington, DC. Redbrick has created an Opportunity Zone fund that will soon begin investing in the area.
ICSC has hosted other forums on Opportunity Zones and will also hold a panel at RECon on Monday, May 20, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.
Phillips Hinch
Vice President, Tax Policy