Vincennes was awarded two Opportunity Zones to help create a more desirable business environment and encourage local investment. The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created the Opportunity Zone program with the intention of spurring investment in areas of the country that have not yet recovered from the recession. The Opportunity Zone designation encourages investment in these communities by providing a long-term tax advantage to individuals who invest realized capital gains in projects within a zone.

The goal of the Opportunity Zone initiative is to encourage long-term private capital investment in low-income urban and rural communities. The Opportunity Zones program offers long-term tax deferral on capital gains for investments in designated census tracts. Opportunity Zone Funds must be placed as equity, taking a shared ownership position in real estate improvements or business enterprise expansions in the designated census tracts.  Indiana’s 156 Opportunity Zones are located in 58 counties covering all or portions of 83 cities and towns throughout the state. Opportunity Zones will cover over 1,000 square miles and the residences of more than half a million Hoosiers. 

For more information about Opportunity Zones and to find out where the zone is in your community, please visit www.iedc.in.gov/programs/indiana-opportunity-zones/where-to-invest.