Steve Pomerance

According to the IRS, “Opportunity Zones are an economic development tool — that is, they are designed to spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities.” This concept was part of the 2017 Republican tax cut bill. About 8,700 census tracts have been approved as opportunity zones across the country. Boulder’s opportunity zone was selected by the governor’s Office of Economic Development and our city government employees without consulting the City Council or the citizens. This census tract is about 2.5 square miles, and encompasses the area between 28th and 55th Streets, and from Arapahoe Road to Iris Avenue, with a notch cut out by Valmont and Airport roads. This “distressed community” includes the new Google office buildings, the 29th Street Mall and Boulder Junction. Obviously, this choice was not about helping the disadvantaged; it was about getting investors to dump yet more money into Boulder, plain and simple.(Diagonal Plaza is the only part of the oppor...

According to the IRS, “An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.” “Opportunity Zones are an economic development tool—that is, they are designed to spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities.” So you know, according to our state government, which designated Colorado’s Opportunity Zones, the area in Boulder between 28 th Street and 55 th , from Arapahoe to Iris, is a “distressed community.” And we’re not the only one to have such a bizarre designation. Parts of Fort Collins, Estes Park, and Grand Junction are now OZs. But there are some rural parts of the state included that at least might be genuinely in need. Investing in an OZ gets you some incredibly beneficial tax breaks. If you stay in the deal for 10 years, you pay no Federal capital gains tax on any profit you make in the deal. (Plus, you get to avoid 15% of the capital gains tax...