U.S. President Trump Is Lifting Up American Communities That Have Been Left Behind

ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT: Opportunity Zones will spur private-sector investment to revitalize hurting communities and unleash their economic potential.

• In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which established Opportunity Zones to incentivize long-term investments in low-income communities across the country.
• These incentives offer capital gains tax relief to investors for new investment in designated Opportunity Zones.
• Opportunity Zones are anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment.
• Incentivizing investment in low-income communities fosters economic revitalization and job creation and promotes sustainable economic growth across the Nation.

LIFTING UP COMMUNITIES: Opportunity Zones help drive economic growth and lift up communities that have been left behind.

• Opportunity Zones are a powerful vehicle for bringing economic growth and job creation to the American communities that need them the most.
  • On average, the median family income in an Opportunity Zone is 37 percent below the State median.
  • The average poverty rate in an Opportunity Zone is more than 32 percent, compared with a rate of 17 percent for the average United States census tract.
• More than 8,760 communities in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 5 Territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones.
  • Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.

CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL: President Donald J. Trump is encouraging investment to create opportunity in distressed communities.

• In 2018, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
  • The Council is chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, and is comprised of 16 Federal agencies.
• The Council is engaging all levels of government to identify best practices and assist leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs in utilizing the Opportunity Zone incentive to revitalize low-income communities.
• The Council is improving revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to economically distressed areas, including Opportunity Zones.
  • Lack of coordination and targeting has led to cumbersome applications, program waste, and ineffective benefits.
• The Council will consider legislative proposals and undertake regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization efforts.
• The Council will present the President with a number of reports identifying and recommending ways to encourage investment in economically distressed communities.