Twelve Franklin County towns and Athol have been submitted by Gov. Charlie Baker to the U.S. Treasury as candidates for long-term economic investment through a new federal program created by last year’s tax reform.
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, taxpayers who reinvest unrealized capital gains into the new “Opportunity Zone” program will be helping to create new economic development in low-income areas with their tax-free investments.
Along with Athol in Worcester County, Baker included the following towns from Franklin County: Charlemont, Colrain, Erving, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Montague, Orange, Rowe, Warwick and Wendell.
Each state’s governor has been invited to submit up to 138 regions to be considered for Opportunity Zone designation, and Baker has submitted the maximum number — even though the state has 581 tracts that could be eligible for this federal designation.
“As part of a collaborative process with communities, our administration, employers, local leaders to nominate eligible tracts they believed would benefit most from this program,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “These communities range from small rural towns to Gateway Cities (with populations between 35,000 to 250,000) and large urban centers…”
Of the 138 tracts submitted for federal approval, 32 tracts are located in the 10 communities with the lowest median family income. Rural towns make up 18 percent of the communities with designated tracts.
The U.S. Treasury is to respond to the state submissions within 30 days, according to the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.