Pub. 9 2019-2020 Issue 2

10 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S www.coloradobankers.org Diamond in the Rough? CRA Credit Could Be the Buried Treasure Within Opportunity Zones With the rollout of final Treasur y regu lat ions , banks may find lending oppor tunit ies that im- prove low-income ar- eas and its CRA ratings. A long with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) came some generous tax breaks to encourage investment in economically underserved markets. The TC JA prog r am prov ide s preferential capital gains treatment for investments within designated low-income census tracts known as Opportunity Zones. In all, nearly 9,000 low-income communities nationwide have been designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ). In the months following the adoption of the TCJA, federal regulators have been implementing much-needed guidance to facilitate commencement of QOZ projects. The first set of proposed regulations were published in October 2018, along with additional guidance (Rev. Rul. 2018-29) on the “original use” requirement for land purchased after 2017 in a QOZ. On April 17, 2019, regulators issued another set of proposed FEATURE ARTICLE BY KRISTIN S. GODFREY