Webinar: The Promise and Perils of Opportunity Zones

Posted on September 12, 2019

The Promise and Perils of Opportunity Zones

Thursday, September 12 2019, 1:00pm – 2:00pm EDT

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Enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones were created with the purpose of attracting and incentivizing the private sector to make long-term investments in communities that deal with perpetual issues of economic distress such as high poverty, unemployment and slower economic growth.

Yet, as promising as Opportunity Zones may seem on the surface, past efforts to use tax incentives to spur economic development in distressed areas have produced mixed results.

Will Opportunity Zones serve to subsidize investments that were already planned? Or will the program truly benefit low-income communities that have suffered neglect for decades?

How will low-income communities that reside in Opportunity Zones benefit from this program? And how can advocates work to ensure that the most vulnerable members of these communities—not just developers, investors and new residents—can benefit from these investments without facing displacement from the infusion of capital Opportunity Zones will bring into their communities?

Join members of the Asset Building Policy Network, PolicyLink, Prosperity Now and others on Thursday, September 12, 2019 from 1-2:00 p.m. ET for a webinar where we’ll discuss the intended mechanics behind Opportunity Zones, how the administration and states have approached the implementation of this program so far and what advocates at all levels can do to ensure that these programs are effective in building up low-income communities that have long faced economic hardships and distress.

This webinar is free but advanced registration is required.

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