President Donald J. Trump Is Lifting Up American Communities that Have Been Left Behind | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    "Our tax bill also creates new opportunity zones rewarding those who invest in distressed communities and create more jobs for those who have, too often, simply been left behind." -    President Donald J. Trump

    CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL: President Donald J. Trump is encouraging investment to create opportunity in distressed communities.

            •  President Trump is signing an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.

                  •  The Council will be chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, and comprised of 13 Federal agencies.

            •  The Council will engage with all levels of government on ways to better use taxpayer dollars to revitalize low-income communities.

            •  The Council will improve revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to economically distressed areas, including Opportunity Zones.

                  •  Lack of coordination and targeting has led to cumbersome applications, program waste, and ineffective benefits.

            •  The Council will consider legislative proposals and undertake regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization efforts.

            •  The Council will present the President with a number of reports identifying and recommending ways to encourage investment in economically distressed communities.

    ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT: Opportunity Zones will spur private investment to revitalize hurting communities and unleash their economic potential.

            •  In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which established Opportunity Zones to incentivize long-term investments in low-income communities across the country.

            •  These incentives offer capital gains tax relief to investors for new investment in designated Opportunity Zones.

            •  Opportunity Zones are anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment.

            •  Incentivizing investment in low-income communities fosters economic revitalization and job creation, and promotes sustainable economic growth across the Nation.


    LIFTING UP COMMUNITIES: Opportunity Zones help drive economic growth and lift up communities that have been left behind.

            •  Opportunity Zones are a powerful vehicle for bringing economic growth and job creation to the American communities that need them the most.

                  •  On average, the median family income in an Opportunity Zone is 37 percent below the state median.

                  •  The average poverty rate in an Opportunity Zone is 32 percent, compared with the national rate of 17 percent.

            •  8,761 communities in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 5 Territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones.

                  •  Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.

• Contact: White House
•     Press Office