FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
Tuesday, October 29, 2019

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Tax March Releases Statement Responding To Ways and Means Committee Meeting About Opportunity Zones

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, amid increased scrutiny of the GOP tax law’s Opportunity Zones program, members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee held a closed-door discussion with civic leaders focused on learning about the true impact of the program on communities around the country.  

The following statement is from Tax March Executive Director Maura Quint:

“Low-income communities deserve to be invested in. The version of the ‘Opportunity Zone’ program included in the 2017 GOP tax scam purports to do just that, but like the rest of that law, it merely sets up a smoke screen in order to give massive handouts to the wealthiest. We hope that today’s closed-door Ways and Means Committee meeting puts a sharp focus on this scam.

Trump’s Opportunity Zone program doesn’t just fail to improve the status quo — it actually worsens already-strained local economies. Had the program strengthened local economies, it would have meant new jobs for longtime residents, higher wages for workers, improved local infrastructure, invigoration of longstanding local businesses — but those promises never materialized. This program remains a steady pipeline of favors from the federal government to Trump’s wealthy corporate developer cronies, like Michael Milken and Dan Gilbert, who are eager to capitalize on this massive tax break at the expense of the working class communities they exploit.

Committee members, if you want to empower real economic opportunity in the communities you represent, you must work to swiftly repeal the Trump tax law, and offer real solutions that ensure the wealthy few and corporations pay their fair share.”

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