Can I hire people who work remotely for my QOZB for some positions? Do they have to live in the same state? There is a big demand out there of people who want to work from home. I am having a hard time getting people to work from the office.
The Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB) rule that is most impacted by the location of staff is the gross income test. Having said that, there are multiple ways to meet the 50% gross income that might not depend on the location of your staff. I would suggest determining whether you can meet the test in another way so as to be more lenient with the work location of your team.
The regulations are the regulations. There is no indication they are changing due to COVID. Therefore, for the 50% test under the Qualified Opportunity Zone Business regulations, the same three safe harbors apply; you can use the facts-and-circumstances analysis to try and justify why you meet the test, but the regulations do not project to change.
The regulations are final and do not contemplate changes in workforce location. You need to determine if your business meets any of the safe harbors to meet the 50% gross income test.
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