If federally approved, new developments in downtown and much of north Baton Rouge would be eligible to take advantage of the Opportunity Zone tax incentive program.
The tax-incentive program—which offsets some of the cost of new development—is attractive for long-term investments, Gabriel Vicknair, assistant executive director for the Downtown Development District, said at this morning’s DDD meeting.
The draw for investing in an Opportunity Zone is deferring and lowering federal taxes on capital gains, according to Louisiana Economic Development.
For a qualified investment, capital gains taxes may be deferred for five years, and then may be canceled on 10% of the original investment.
“This is another economic incentive we can add to our toolkit,” says DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer.
The incentives are open to all taxpaying citizens and can even be used to renovate historic buildings, single family homes and/or multifamily projects.
“They’re for investments large or small,” Vicknair says. “They’re not only for traditional developers but also for individuals’ deferral on capital gains.”
Last month, Gov. John Bel Edwards nominated 150 census tracts to be eligible for the Opportunity Zone program. Eligible census tracts are required to have poverty rates of at least 20% or median family incomes not more than 80% of statewide or metro area income.
