Sen. Tim Scott: Tax Break Program Creates ‘Opportunity Zones’

A tax break program creating “opportunity zones” in more than 8,000 areas will help nearly 35 million Americans by attracting private sector capital through a capital gains tax deferral plan, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Monday.

“If you make it a long-term investment in one the poor areas, the fact of the matter, that tax is 24 percent,” Scott, who made pushing the tax bill through a priority, told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”

“This is a significant motivating factor for [the] private sector, who knows how to create jobs in some of the most distressed communities in impoverished areas.”

Scott said he has heard of more than $25 billion in projects that have been waiting for guidelines from the Treasury Department, which are now out.

“We’ll see real activity in some of these distressed communities,” Scott said. “Here is an opportunity people will take advantage of, because they want to do good and make a profit. That is the American Dream, to be able to make a profit and then reinvest your profit in such a way you help other Americans.”

Scott said he has been on a “national opportunity” tour of several cities, starting in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, and has traveled elsewhere, including to Huntington, West Virginia, Miami, and other places.

“We’ve seen projects started by people who want to have an impact on poverty, and in West Virginia, they were focusing on the opioid crisis as well as New Hampshire, when I met with the governor there,” Scott said.