* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Bullock and Henry
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Informational Hearing - New Federal Opportunity Zone Program
For the purpose of supporting the City’s proportionate proposal for designating Opportunity Zones in Baltimore, and calling on representatives from the Baltimore Development Corporation and the Department of Finance to appear before the City Council to discuss the City’s plans to coordinate with communities to attract truly impactful investment to Baltimore’s new Opportunity Zones once the program goes into effect.
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Recitals
Recent changes to federal tax laws included the introduction of a new program allowing state governors to designate low-income census-tracts in their states as “Opportunity Zones” in which investments from the private sector receive favorable federal tax treatment. The goal of the program is to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide by providing a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains in distressed communities, thereby reducing inequalities in access to capital and spurring growth in underserved areas.
In each state, the governor may designate up to 25% of the census-tracts that meet the income and economic distress criteria for the program as Opportunity Zones. This approach is intended to both help ensure local needs and opportunities are being addressed and ...
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