I had never heard of “Opportunity Zones.” The reason is that they were hidden in Trump’s gifts to the wealthy and corporations he mislabeled “tax reform.”

According to the IRS, “Opportunity Zones are economically-distressed communities where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.” Opportunity Zones were added to the tax code through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017. There are a number of Opportunity Zone tax rules for businesses.

In layman’s terms this is an opportunity for wealthy investors to receive additional tax cuts by investing in depressed areas with the final goal being low-cost housing for low-income Americans. Like all of Trump’s other failures, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other wealthy investors are using this tax break to build luxury residential communities.

New York-based Cadre, in which Kushner still holds at least a $25 million passive stake, made it clear to potential investors in recent marketing materials that it doesn’t plan to look for development deals in most of those zones because of their “unfavorable growth prospects.”

Large real estate investment firms are using these tax breaks to construct costly homes and condos on fifth avenue overlooking Central Park, Ledroit Park in Washington D.C., and the Willows near Menlo Park, California which is less than two miles from Stanford University among other upscale locations across America. To put this in perspective, a 1,200 square foot condo or home in the Willows will cost $1,800,000.

Yes, my fellow Americans, this is legal, when in reality this is tax fraud. Republicans approved every section of this tax law which allows the one-percent to pad their bank accounts and continue to ignore the fact that there are more than 46 million Americans living in poverty and another 100 million+ who are low-income and one paycheck away from falling below the poverty line.

Trump’s entire presidency is a “long-con” which uses the national treasury to fund the sham.

Fact: Republicans are the enemy of the working class. We cannot allow them to win the war. Plan now to vote on November 3, 2020 and take your country back; it belongs to us, not them.

The Truth Lives Here

Op-ed by this “Wise Old Fart,” James Turnage

Source

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