Opportunity Zones Connect Private Capital with Economic Development

Opportunity zones were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term private investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The opportunity zone program is intended to stimulate economic growth in distressed areas by providing tax benefits to investors.

OZFund

OZFund, Inc. (“OZFund" or the "Fund”) is a community-focused ‘Qualified Opportunity Fund' (QOF) with plans to acquire distressed below-market properties located in the ‘Opportunity Zones’ of Central Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region for redevelopment into affordable rental housing and commercial space.

By investing in the OZFund, Investors can defer or eliminate taxes while at the same time helping our distressed communities flourish.

According to the Secretary of the US Treasury: “Opportunity Zones are helping to revitalize communities and create jobs for hardworking Americans”. Click here to view the US Treasury FAQ

Tax Benefits that Mature over Time

With three levels of tax benefits, opportunity zone investments can lead to a permanent elimination of taxes. Investing in a QOF should be of interest to Investors who wish to roll over a capital gain or Investors who wish to invest in a QOF for 10 years:

• First, investors can defer capital gains taxes from the initial sale of stocks, bonds, real estate, businesses and other assets, by investing in a QOF like the OZFund. The capital gain must be invested in the QOF within 180 days of the sale of an asset.
• Second, capital gains taxes can be partially reduced 10% if the investment is held for 5 years or until 2026, when the capital gain must be paid.
• Third, any investment held in the OZFund for at least 10 years will not be liable for any federal tax on profits made from the investment.

The OZFund provides a path for investors to support local communities that has never been available until now, and seeks to encourage investors to support low-income communities by investing in OZFund.

For its first proposed project, OZFund has acquired a large property located on South Queen Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an Opportunity Zone. The property will be developed into about +/- 72 affordable apartments and +/- 14,684 sf of commercial space, including a daycare center.

The purpose of investing in a Qualified Opportunity Fund such as the OZFund, is to transform distressed neighborhoods into thriving economic hubs.

A unique feature of the OZFund is that it may opportunistically make equity investments into some of the businesses that lease space from the Fund. This is a unique return enhancer that has the potential to deliver significantly higher returns for investors than other affordable housing-focused funds.