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What types of businesses do not qualify for QOF investment even if they are located in an Opportunity Zone?

Why can I invest in a restaurant but not in a liquor store? Why can I invest in a sports arena but not a golf course?


Answers
  • Marko Belej
    September 17, 2021

    A qualified opportunity zone business (QOZB) cannot engage in the following businesses, even if they are located in an opportunity zone (OZ): a private or commercial golf course, country club, massage parlor, hot tub facility, sun tan facility, racetrack or other facility used for gambling, or any store the principal business of which is the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption off premises. These are "sin" businesses, and restaurants and sports arenas are not, because when Congress passed the OZ rules it simply referred to an existing Code provision, enacted in 1986, that applied to qualified redevelopment bonds. Note that this restriction does not apply to a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) that invests directly in the business (instead of through a QOZB).

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