Osage City designated as opportunity zone; opens tax incentives for investors

Osage City, Kan., has been designated as an opportunity zone after being one of 74 census tracts across Kansas nominated for the designation in April 2018. The opportunity zone designation by the U.S. Department of Treasury allows communities to be eligible to receive investments through Qualified Opportunity Funds to spur local economic growth.

Opportunity zones are an economic development tool enacted by the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and offers investors preferential tax treatment for capital gains invested in designated low income communities. The program is designed to encourage long term investment in economically distressed areas and promote economic growth. The investments are to provide support to projects focused on a wide array of issues including downtown revitalizations, improvements to workforce housing, and expansions of industrial parks and innovation districts.