Five Reasons NY Must End Its Tax Break for Trump Opportunity Zones

See S3340 (Gianaris) / A3246 (Dinowitz), which would end New York’s Opportunity Zone tax break. The bill is supported by over 20 public interest groups and unions.

1. Opportunity Zones will cost New York up to $424 million annually if the state does not end its tax break for the program. An analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission showed that New York State will lose up to $284 million and New York City up to $140 million every year from 2029 – while the state is facing multi-billion-dollar budget gaps
   
2. Opportunity Zones send New York tax dollars into out-of-state luxury apartments. Because New York State and City mirror the federal tax code, a New York-based investor can write off investments in Opportunity Zone properties in Miami, Florida.

3. Opportunity Zones are a Trump program designed to benefit Trump cronies. Reporting in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg News has detailed investments by Trump allies like Jared Kushner, Richard LeFrak, and Anthony Scaramucci.
   
4. Opportunity Zone money flows into high-end real estate, not the low-income housing that New York needs. New York University’s Furman Center showed that neighborhoods with Opportunity Zone designations started building more upscale apartments than those that did not.
   
5. Opportunity Zones fund guns, oil, and crypto. A report by Reinvent Albany showed that Opportunity Zones have been set up to support investments in businesses that contradict NY’s policy goals, including a gun megaseller in Florida and oil and gas fields in Texas.

**See supporters’ quotes below**

Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris: “New York’s Opportunity Zone program was intended to help economically distressed areas but has been abused to grant tax breaks to already overdeveloped neighborhoods. This giveaway to wealthy investors does too little to help communities in need when we need to prioritize affordability for New Yorkers.”

Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz: “This bill is about making sure our tax policies work for New Yorkers. By fully decoupling from the Opportunity Zone capital gains exclusion, New York is closing a loophole that has allowed significant profits to go untaxed at the state and city level. This is a common-sense step to protect public revenue from those able to take advantage of federal incentives. Passing this legislation will strengthen our tax system and ensure that we have adequate resources to pour back into our state budget.”

Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger: “The Opportunity Zone program is nothing more than another boondoggle to funnel taxpayer money to wealthy investors, with little-to-no benefit for New York and New Yorkers. If we don’t take action now, New York City and New York State are projected to lose nearly half a billion dollars every year to line investors’ pockets and fund sketchy development in other states. It is critical that we finish the job in this year’s budget and fully decouple New York’s tax code from the federal Opportunity Zone program.”

Mario Cilento, President, New York State AFL-CIO: “Decoupling from the federal Opportunity Zone program is a good step we can take to ensure that the state is not subsidizing capital gains tax cuts for the wealthy. This will ensure these state funds are available for vital services, benefits, and programs that everyday New Yorkers rely on, which is more critical now as we address the budget and revenue fallout from the federal cuts.”

Melinda Person, President, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT): “New Yorkers work hard, pay their share, and expect those dollars to be invested back into their communities, not siphoned off to subsidize luxury developments, out-of-state ventures, or industries that have nothing to do with strengthening our state. That money should be going where it belongs: into our classrooms, our communities, and the public services that help working families.”

Mary E. Sullivan, President, Civil Service Employees Association: “New York should not be sending hundreds of millions of dollars out the door each year to subsidize tax breaks that do nothing for our state. Rejecting these tax breaks is a common-sense step to protect New York’s revenue, keep those dollars here at home, and ensure they are available to support the public services and investments New Yorkers rely on every day, not another giveaway to wealthy investors.”

Reinvent Albany Senior Policy Advisor Alex Camarda: “New York should never be subsidizing investments in out-of-state gun stores, oil wells and crypto-mining, let alone with billion-dollar budget gaps looming. New York should completely decouple from this Trump tax boondoggle and use the revenue to fund programs New Yorkers care about like public transit, clean water, and education.”

New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness Director Ron Deutsch: “We have been arguing for years that New York State should fully decouple from the Trump Opportunity Zone tax scheme. We simply can’t afford to allow the wealthy to shield themselves from taxation while sending our tax dollars to other states for dubious ventures with no public benefit. We should be keeping these dollars in New York to help address our out year budget gaps and to support programs and services the federal government has slashed.”

Rebecca Garrard, Co-Executive Director at Citizen Action of New York: “New Yorkers should not be subsidizing a tax giveaway that enriches wealthy investors while families struggle with housing, healthcare, and childcare costs.  Trump-era Opportunity Zone tax breaks have produced windfalls for developers, not real opportunity for our communities. It’s time to end these loopholes and invest in what New Yorkers actually need to thrive.”

Rashida Tyler, Acting Executive Director of the NYS Council of Churches: “The misuse of Opportunity Zone tax incentives is not just a breach of the public trust, but also of the moral responsibility and obligation that our government has to New York State residents.  Public dollars must serve the common good, not subsidize private gain at the expense of our most vulnerable neighbors. The NYS Council of Churches supports fully decoupling New York from the federal Opportunity Zone tax code. When we find abuses such as this, elected officials must take action to ensure public dollars and resources are properly stewarded and utilized for the public good.”

Marina Marcou-O’Malley, Co-Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education: “We live in one of the wealthiest states in the nation. We know that New York can have truly universal child care: a system that meets the needs of all families and pays educators thriving wages. We can have fully funded schools, affordable housing, health care and more. If our state leaders want New York State to be a place where families want to be, we need to put our money where our mouth is, and stop providing nearly half a billion in corporate handouts to the ultra wealthy. Without investing in the workforce, universal child care becomes nothing more than a sound bite.