The 15th Congressional District spans from the suburbs of Columbus to Clinton County in the Southwest region, and to the foothills of Appalachia, and it is full of remarkable communities with untapped potential. I am proud to represent each and every one of them, and to pursue policies that will tap into the best natural resource we have: our people.
This time last year, historic tax reform, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was signed into law. This legislation had one simple goal: improving the lives of all Americans and creating opportunities in every corner of our country. Nowhere is that goal more evident than in two particular provisions: qualifying opportunity zones (QOZs) and the new markets tax credits (NMTC). Both the opportunity zones and NMTC were designed to help revitalize the communities that need it most and create opportunities for those individuals who will seize them.
Opportunity zones were originally created by H.R. 828, the Investing in Opportunity Act, a bill I was proud to cosponsor, and that was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Opportunity zones seek to leverage public-private partnerships in the areas that stand to benefit the most. Using input from local leaders, each state nominated specific neighborhoods where capital investment has the potential to dramatically improve lives. Those opportunity zones are designed to spur capital investments by offering tax incentives to businesses that open locations in the opportunity zones. While the final implementation is still being designed, it is anticipated that opportunity zones could bring as much as $2.2 trillion in investments to communities around the nation.
With a similar goal in mind, I recently led thirty-five of my colleagues encouraging the House Committee on Ways and Means to include a permanent extension of the new markets tax credit. Established in 2000, the NMTC increases the flow of capital to credit-starved businesses and revitalization projects in economically distressed communities. To date, NMTC has created approximately 1,000,000 jobs and nearly 75 percent of funds have been invested in America’s poorest communities.
NMTC has allowed the creation of thousands of hospitals, schools, daycare centers, and treatment facilities, in addition to nearly one thousand manufacturing and industrial businesses. It works. It creates tangible impact in the lives of the people who need it most and helps us create stronger, healthier, and more vibrant neighborhoods. Coupled with opportunity zones, we have the potential to bring new partners into our communities who will believe in the potential and make the type of long-term investment necessary to help them grow and thrive. Together, we can all create a future for all.
To learn more about opportunity zones or the new market tax credits, please call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-2015, my Hilliard office at (614) 771-4968, my Lancaster office at (740) 654-2654, or my Wilmington office at (937) 283-7049.
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