The IRS released final regulations under Section 1400Z-2 that tie together many of the loose ends remaining after the publishing of two sets of proposed regulations, one in October 2018 and another in May 2019. This article will attempt to put it ALL together: the statute, the two proposed regulations, and last week's final regulations.

The Treasury Department's inspector general is looking into the opportunity zone program following stories by ProPublica and The New York Times about how the tax break meant to help the poor had been manipulated by billionaires. The inspector general said that once the inquiry is complete it plans to publicly post its response.

The U.S. Department of Treasury released the long-awaited final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations (the "Final Regulations"). The Final Regulations and explanatory materials that span 544 pages, are quite extensive and give some needed clarity into how the Opportunity Zone tax rules work. This client alert is intended to highlight just some of the changes and clarifications in the rules.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's new interactive map provides information about the location and characteristics of significant transportation-related facilities that are located in or near Opportunity Zones.

Forrest Milder walks us through highlights of the recently finalized Opportunity Zone regulations under tax code Section 1400Z-2. He praises the IRS for including a great deal of flexibility in these regulations, but he also cautions that many technical and transition rules will require very careful reading and application.

The Treasury Department was convinced by EPA's case that Opportunity Zones need to cater to brownfield redevelopment to be successful. The final regulatory release develops clear and detailed pathways and preferences for real estate redevelopment.

The federal government plans to give commercial banks credit for issuing loans in low-income communities as part of a larger reform to a 1970s-era Community Reinvestment Act. This is the first direct regulatory incentive for banks to lend in Opportunity Zones and could be a game-changer for the program, according to some experts.

Tennessee's Opportunity Zones directory is now live. The new tool makes it easy for communities to connect with developers and opportunity funds.

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This document contains final regulations governing the extent to which taxpayers may elect the Federal income tax benefits provided by section 1400Z-2 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) with respect to certain equity interests in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF).

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