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Ohio Launches Portal To Showcase 'Opportunity Zone' Projects

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted at the Opportunity Zones Showcase in Columbus, where he unveiled the marketing platform for opportunity zones to share details on places and projects available for investment.
Karen Kasler
/
Statehouse News Bureau
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted at the Opportunity Zones Showcase in Columbus, where he unveiled the marketing platform for opportunity zones to share details on places and projects available for investment.

Ohio has launched a new portal for its 320 “Opportunity Zones,” intended to help economically distressed communities to showcase projects for potential investors.

The 2017 federal tax law put more incentives into investing in low-income rural areas and struggling urban neighborhoods. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said the next step was finding a way for communities, project managers and investors to connect.

Husted said this portalworks as a “one-stop shop” rather than a collection of websites.

“Why don’t we all make this open source? They can put whatever they want to sell themselves, but it also serves as a central collection point," Husted said.

The state provides a 10 percent non-refundable income tax credit for investment in Opportunity Zones, which must stay in place for 10 years.

But investors can get a break on federal capital gains taxes and pay no taxes on appreciation of investments in the zone.