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Missouri is America’s Opportunity Zone

  • May 20, 2019

Companies looking to expand to Missouri are often drawn to the Show-Me State due to our prime strategic location, abundance of highly-skilled talent, and our low-cost, pro-business atmosphere. Now companies have another benefit when expanding their business in Missouri: Opportunity Zones.

The Opportunity Zone program was created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and is a new tax incentive intended to help distressed urban and rural communities in the State of Missouri and across the country. Opportunity Zones are low-income census tracts selected by each state’s governor and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The aim of Opportunity Zones is to improve economic outcomes of these distressed communities by incentivizing investors through the temporary deferral of capital gains taxes, reduction in owed capital gains taxes, and long-term capital gains tax elimination.

“The Opportunity Zones program will help spur new investments in communities where they’re needed most,” said Missouri Senator Roy Blunt. “By bringing investment incentives to underserved areas, the program will help create more jobs, drive economic growth, and improve the quality of life for families across our state.”

Missouri has 161 Opportunity Zones spread across the state, in rural and urban environments. Individuals and corporations with capital gains can reinvest these gains in investment funds that will focus investments in property and businesses in Qualified Opportunity Zones to receive the tax benefits. Such investments must be made through Opportunity Funds, which are specially created investment vehicles invested in Opportunity Zones.

For more information on Opportunity Zones, or to learn why Missouri could be a prime location to launch or grow your business, contact Subash Alias, CEO of Missouri Partnership, at 314.932.3973 or via our contact form. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have, and show you how Missouri Partnership can help with your business expansion, collaboration and investment needs.

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