Photo Courtesy of Syracuse Post-Standard/Syracuse.com

Linking tax policy and economic development, the federal Opportunity Zones program offers federal income tax deferral and tax reduction to encourage equity investment of capital gains in designated low-income census tracts. The investments will facilitate increased business activity and economic revitalization. Bousquet Holstein has a long history advising investors, developers, entrepreneurs, lenders and local governments on maximizing federal and state income tax credits and incentives; on developing, implementing and taking advantage of federal, state and local economic development programs; and on forming, raising capital for, operating, lending to and selling business organizations.

Our Opportunity Zone team is a multi-disciplinary group of professionals from our Public Finance, Tax, Business Transactions, Mergers and Acquisitions and Brownfields Practice Groups. Our team works together to identify available benefits and incentives for our clients and their businesses and projects. We collaborate to spot and address issues early; structure investments, investment vehicles, businesses and transactions to take advantage of the available benefits and incentives and allocate risk appropriately; and ensure the process to reach closing exceeds our client’s expectations.

Bousquet Holstein can work with you to leverage OZ investments to maximize their impact on communities, neighborhoods, and residents if you are:

• a taxpayer with capital gains or a Qualified OZ Fund manager;
• a developer or start-up business with an idea or property in an OZ; or
• a financial institution or local government looking to assist eligible OZ businesses.

Our OZ team will make sure you understand the rules and have the facts and expectations under control.  Call us to discuss:

• The Capital Gains eligible for tax deferral or reduction and when they are eligible;
• Tax-free appreciation of qualified OZ Fund investments;
• Investing directly or indirectly in real estate and start-up businesses in an OZ;
• Finding long-term capital for your real estate project and start-up business in an OZ;
• Combining OZ benefits with Brownfield Cleanup Tax Credits, IDA Tax Abatement and Tax-Exempt Financing;
• Lending to an OZ business;
• Complying with the OZ rules under the Internal Revenue Code;
• Securities Law considerations.

Practicing Attorneys