WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump is centering his pitch to Black Americans for a second term on the expansion of opportunity zones, a program intended to fight poverty that his administration is touting as having brought $75 billion in private investment to distressed communities.
The program, created in 2017 tax legislation, targets low-income areas for development with a guarantee of tax breaks for investors and a promise of improved economic conditions for residents.
Critics say they are concerned that opportunity zones are not reducing poverty, and they are calling for greater transparency and accountability on who benefits from the land development.
