Tax Cuts and Jobs Act leads to private investment targets across Michigan
By Chris Galford 
April 12, 2018 
The Peninsula  

With approval from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), new Opportunity Zones have been designated throughout Michigan.

Opportunity Zones are a designation created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. They are meant to encourage private investment, economic growth and spur jobs in downtrodden areas with tax incentives tied to investments.

“These Opportunity Zones have great potential to allow entrepreneurs and businesses here in Southwest Michigan to take advantage of a wider array of economic development tools,” U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) said. “We’ve seen historic investment in our local businesses, tax cuts for the middle-class, and more money in worker paychecks as a result of tax reform. Now, we’re seeing a greater range of possibilities to build more businesses and create more local jobs for and by residents of Southwest Michigan and throughout our great state.”

The new designations included two dozen in Upton’s region and another nine in the more central tri-county region. In all, Gov. Rick Snyder and attending state authorities applied on behalf of 288 eligible zones in Michigan.

“LEAP made sure all eligible areas applied for this important tool and credits the communities for putting forth great efforts in their applications,” Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), said. “We are pleased that our region is well represented, and are ready to work on behalf of all the communities across the region to leverage this opportunity and increase investment in our region.”