Author: evisioncorp

Opportunity Zones creating growth in local communities

Opportunity Zones creating growth in local communities

Columbia, SC- October 1, 2019

ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT: Opportunity Zones are spurring private-sector investment to revitalize hurting communities and unleash their economic potential.

  • In 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which established Opportunity Zones to incentivize long-term investments in low-income communities nationwide.
  • 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 more than 32 percent, compared with a rate of 17 percent for the average United States census tract.
  • More than 8,760 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.

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

  • The Trump Administration has taken more than 160 actions to encourage investment in low-income communities.
  • In 2018, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
    • The Council is chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, and is comprised of 17 Federal agencies.
  • The Council is engaging all levels of government to identify best practices and assist leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs in using the Opportunity Zone incentive to revitalize low-income communities.
  • Scott Turner, Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, has hosted Opportunity Zone roundtables and meetings with local officials, investors, community leaders, and residents in more than 40 cities. 
  • The Council is improving revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to economically distressed areas, including Opportunity Zones.
  • The Council will present the President with a number of reports identifying and recommending ways to encourage investment in economically distressed communities.

For more information go to Opportunityzones.hud.gov



New Anti-Poverty Legislation Aimed at Private Investors

New Anti-Poverty Legislation Aimed at Private Investors

A bipartisan group of congressmen recently introduced a new bill intended to reinvigorate America’s poorest communities. The Investing in Opportunity Act (IOA) will allow investors to temporarily delay paying capital-gains taxes on their investments if they choose to reinvest the money into “opportunity zones” or distressed communities across the country.

The legislation was cosponsored in the Senate by Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey, and in the House by Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Ron Kind (D-Wisc.).  These congressmen report that their bill has garnered bipartisan support in both chambers, and they believe that its provisions will allow for tremendous economic growth in some of the country’s most underserved communities.

READ MORE AT: NATIONAL REVIEW

SCAAC Energy Connect -Q&A Session

SCAAC Energy Connect -Q&A Session

The Board of Directors of the Chamber cordially invites you to a private luncheon regarding the economic, small business and safety measures of Offshore exploration for oil and natural gas in South Carolina.
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This forum is hosted by the South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce, Explore Offshore South Carolina, the Center for Offshore Safety and the American Petroleum Institute. The event will take place 12:00 noon on July 24th at the Palmetto Club located at 1231 Sumter Street Columbia, SC 29201.

 

Question and Answer Session of Forum.

How South Carolina can benefit from offshore oil exploration

How South Carolina can benefit from offshore oil exploration

South Carolinians depend on accessible, affordable energy to fuel our lives.

The decisions we make about our energy resources today lay the foundation for what kind of state we will call home tomorrow.

That is the focus of Explore Offshore SC, a new coalition of community organizations, businesses and local leaders who support access to U.S. offshore resources. I am proud to lead this group and work with other South Carolinians to secure more reliable domestic energy through safe, responsible offshore exploration.

Offshore represents a vast, untapped source of potential energy for meeting our growing energy needs. Unfortunately, 94 percent of America’s offshore acreage is currently off limits to development or even new study.

Read More at The STATE Newspaper

Jobless rates fall for Black Americans

Jobless rates fall for Black Americans

The unemployment rates for black Americans, recent veterans and people in their early 20s fell sharply in February, even as the national jobless rate held steady at 4.1 percent. The rate for African-Americans fell to 6.9 percent, near a record low of 6.8 percent reached in December. Still, the unemployment rate for African-Americans remains stubbornly higher than the rates for other racial and ethnic groups. The unemployment rate for those who have served in the armed forces anytime since September 2001 dropped to 3.3 percent, matching a record low from December.

Younger Americans in their early 20s also enjoyed a good month in the job market. Their jobless rate fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest level since 2000.