Opportunity Investing: How To Revitalize Urban And Rural Communities With Opportunity Funds

The Hidden Gem in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)

The Opportunity Zones Initiative was established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 as an innovative approach to spurring long-term private sector investments in low-income rural and urban communities nationwide. Suddenly, our nation has a brand-new path to bolstering and revitalizing distressed businesses and communities in approximately 8,800 approved areas known as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs).

Through Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) applied in QOZs, we all have a chance to work together to: 1) benefit from the capital gains tax breaks 2) make money and 3) positively impact low-income urban and rural QOZ communities and the lives of millions of people.

Opportunity Investing, by Jim White, PhD--bestselling author of What's My Purpose? A Journey of Personal and Professional Growth and CEO and founder of JL White International, LLC--explores how to use the TCJA to create investment opportunities in QOZs through QOFs. These opportunity funds can improve the quality of life for the citizens in QOZs and help companies in these areas succeed.

If businesses in QOZs thrive, the communities will have more jobs and better salaries to offer. More people will want to relocate to these areas, which will increase real estate values and breathe new life into local shops and stores. When residents and business owners are doing well, they spend more money on beautifying their homes, storefronts, public buildings, streets, parks, and monuments. Their infrastructure will improve, crime will decrease, and better health care will be available for residents. Spread out over many communities, QOFs can help our nation flourish as a whole.

Opportunity knocks: QOFs are a win-win-win for investors, business owners, and citizens of urban and rural QOZ areas.

Jim White, PhD is Chairman and CEO of Post Harvest Technologies, Inc. and Growers Ice Company, Inc., Founder and CEO of PHT Opportunity Fund, LLC, and Founder and President of JL White International, LLC. Jim is the best-selling author of What's My Purpose? A Journey of Personal and Professional Growth. The book, which has been lauded by such industry leaders as Steven M.R. Covey and Jack Canfield, seeks to change readers by helping them to identify key truths while breaking down the main barriers (the Five Masks) to fulfillment. Jim is also the founder of the customized yearlong leadership and management transformation process, The Circle of Success; Jim White's Classic Movie Series; and The Red Carpet Tour. These innovative events have attracted more than 100,000 participants worldwide, including Fortune 500 CEOs, management teams, entrepreneurs, governments, and trade associations. Dr. White first found his entrepreneurial spirit at age five when he created his first business-collecting and selling Coke bottles to help support his family. From these humble beginnings, Jim went on to serve his country in Vietnam before entering the corporate world upon his return. Along the way, he would go from high school dropout to academic triumph, eventually earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Organizational Behavior. Dr. White achieved international recognition as CEO of Blount World Trade Corporation; owner and Managing Director of ACEC Centrifugal Pumps NV, Belgium; and as Vice-President and Division Manager of Ingersoll Rand Equipment Corporation. Throughout his career, he has bought, expanded, and sold 23 companies, operating in 44 countries. Jim acquires struggling businesses to revive and develop them into profitable enterprises using his business turnaround strategy. To date, Jim has generated more than $1.8 billion in revenue.