Today, Governor Eric Greitens and Senator Roy Blunt announced the locations of 161 “Opportunity Zones” in Missouri—low-income areas that will see added incentives for investment. The locations of the Opportunity Zones were determined by the state, and made possible by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Areas with high poverty rates and slow job growth will get a boost as they compete for jobs, with additional state and federal tax incentives for businesses that invest in these communities.
“We’ve already seen jobs coming back to Missouri as a result of strong conservative reforms. Now I’m proud to share that, because of tax reform, we have a new tool to bring businesses back to the areas that need it most. The communities that need quality jobs—areas with a lot of poverty and not a lot of opportunity--will get a leg up as they compete for jobs. I’m grateful to everyone who worked on this issue, and proud to announce these opportunity zones today,” said Governor Eric Greitens.
“The Opportunity Zones program will help spur new investments in communities where they’re needed most. 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. The Opportunity Zones program is another example of how tax reform is directly benefitting Missourians, and turning the page on years of slow growth and stagnant wages. I’m proud to support this program, and I’ll keep working to advance pro-growth policies that will help more hardworking families get ahead,” said Senator Roy Blunt.
Created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Opportunity Zones program provides investors with a treasury-certified capital-gains tax deferral, based on their investment in the designated areas. The program seeks to revitalize and create jobs in areas that otherwise may not be considered by investors.
Under the law, each state could nominate up to 25 percent of census tracks that met the eligibility requirements for the program, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury. In Missouri, the state could nominate up to 161 census tracks to be designated as Opportunity Zones.
To determine which zones were chosen, Missouri relied extensively on local input. Local governments were asked to nominate areas for inclusion in the program by sending a written proposal to the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).
The communities prioritized their selections and provided DED with information about development plans, and descriptions of recent and future investments. In addition to local recommendations, the state considered the Opportunity Zone’s potential to address need and generate investment impact.
The opportunity zones are located in Bolivar, Branson, Butler County, Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Dallas County, Excelsior Springs, Hannibal, Independence, Jackson County, Jefferson City, Jennings, Joplin, Kansas City, Kennett, Kirksville, Laclede County, Lafayette County, Lebanon, Maryville, Mexico, Monett, Montgomery County, Neosho, New Madrid County, Newton County, Pemiscot County, Potosi, Pulaski County, Randolph County, Ripley County, Saline County, Sikeston, Springfield, St. Joseph, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Sugar Creek, Sullivan County, Sunrise Beach, Warren County, Warrensburg, Warsaw, Wayne County, and West Plains. For a full list of Missouri’s opportunity zones,click here.
Does anyone see the humor in this story. Missouri republicans hold back on minimum wage increases, lower standards on education and now we see just about every city in Missouri as poverty areas. Missouri prides itself on a sovereign state that does not need oversight by the federal government, but boy do the hands come out when money becomes available. Of course, do not let some cities/counties have laws limiting pollution or setting what they feel are fair wage levels for their citizens. Let us not forget they are defeating prevailing wage levels for public projects which further eat away at unions involvement. Don't forget the "Right to Work" laws that also stifle worker protection and benefits. These guys are jokes to common man that still believe they are there to help them. At least Billy Long protects workers wages in Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteOh, great! More benefits for big business and the deficit still grows. Last tax cut means Trillion Dollar deficits (that's 12 zeros = a million million = 10 to the 12th power) by 2020. Pitiful legacy ...
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Blunt for supporting the top 1% and corporations. If not for your voting for rich tax cuts and corporate tax breaks, we wouldn't have near the profit that we have to pay the CEO's million dollar bonuses and buy back our stock to enrich the lives of our shareholders. We are so proud of you making sure there are no pesky regulations to keep us from dumping the toxins into the environment. Cleaning up our messes was eating into our profit! Holding the minimum wage down is a blessing to us too! Now if you can just make it so we don't have to provide insurance benefits or contribute to those pesky retirement programs we could pay you even more to do what we tell you to do. Another good move by cutting funding to education too! Can't have the lower class getting an educated. They would start reading and thinking for themselves. We can't have that. By the way, how many lobbyists are in your family again? We want to make sure we speak to each one of them. Wink, Wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?
ReplyDelete