Parts of Cabarrus County have been included in opportunity zones designated by tax reform legislation signed into law last year and certified by the U.S. Treasury this week, opening a new source of investment capital and economic growth for places and people who need it most.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created 252 opportunity zones across North Carolina’s 100 counties to spur investment, economic growth and jobs in economically disadvantaged, struggling and low-income communities throughout the country.

The zones provide a chance for U.S. investors to use a temporary capital gains referral in exchange for investing the capital in these communities. This will create new channels for investment that will grow jobs, inspire entrepreneurship and improve the local economy for future generations, proponents of the measure anticipate.

Both Concord and Kannapolis have areas designated as opportunity zones.

“In the period after the Great Recession, we saw that millions of Americans were left behind in the recovery due to job growth and economic opportunities being concentrated in select areas of the country,” said N.C. Sen. Thom Tillis. “There is nowhere more evident than North Carolina, as the rural and urban divide continues to grow and millions of North Carolinians are left behind. The creation of these opportunity zones in the tax reform legislation passed last year will incentivize critical investments in these communities in North Carolina and across the country so all Americans have economic opportunities no matter their location.”

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, states nominate low-income communities to be designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones, which are eligible for the tax benefit. Qualified Opportunity Zones retain this designation for 10 years. Investors can defer tax on any prior gains until no later than Dec. 31, 2026, so long as the gain is reinvested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund, an investment vehicle organized to make investments in Qualified Opportunity Zones.