economy
The end of 2019 marks a major deadline for investors seeking to use the 2017 tax law provision to shelter 15% of their profits from stocks and other investments, particularly from real estate, from taxes. In return for the tax break, they must hold their investments in mostly low-income opportunity zone census tracts for seven years, under tax code Section 1400Z-2.
More than 8,700 newly created Opportunity Zones are now racing to attract a portion of the $6 trillion in capital that may flow under a provision of the new tax law enacted in 2017. The law uses a package of tax incentives to jumpstart economic development in distressed communities by financing local startups, building small businesses, or developing properties--but there are also opportunities for education institutions and workforce-development programs.
We are excited to share our fiscal 2019 annual report. The Economic Growth Institute is expanding its research, company engagement, and education initiatives, which are shared in this year's report. The Institute has provided innovative economic development programming and applied research for over 35 years. - Economic Growth Institute
After 18 months, some communities are starting to see Opportunity Zones (OZ) investments. LISC, a community development entity with a long track record of project finance, has published a new guide to help communities plan to capitalize on the investment. These activities remain heavily focused on real estate projects but may still be informative for groups looking to bolster their regional innovation economy.
Prosperity Capitalism is my term for when free enterprise, free markets and democracy thrive so does innovation. Prosperity results when capitalism is enabled by free markets, access to capital, talent and tools. Low regulation is part of the equation, In fact I could argue that the heart of Prosperity Capitalism are democratic values that drive invention, risk and reward.
Hundreds of companies began queuing up to testify in Washington on Monday for seven days of hearings on the Trump administration's proposal to jack up tariffs on Chinese imports. A common theme of their testimony: Americans would feel the pinch on everything from mobile phones and laptops to apparel, fireworks and Christmas ornaments.
How was the Opportunity Zones initiative created in the first place? And why is this program so radically different from previous place-based policies?
America’s corporate tax rate is no longer the most controversial part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. A then-little-known provision establishing tax incentives for investment in Opportunity Zones – legally designated, economically-distressed census tracts - has generated debate nationwide.
Once the war ended, American soldiers brought home that innovative spirit that has propelled our economy in the years since World War II. It makes our market-based system the envy of the world. In the intervening 75 years, other countries that cast off their oppressive, totalitarian regimes studied the United States as the economic model. They not only looked at Washington companies such as Boeing, Microsoft and SEL for guidance, but our education as well.
U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states. But some contribute more than others. California, for instance, blossomed in 2017 as the fifth largest economy in the world, boasting a GDP larger than that of countries like the U.K., France and India. Meanwhile, Alaska, a state with valuable natural resources, is struggling with the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 6.5%.