'Opportunity' to invest in Lewiston, hospital

Several areas in north central Idaho - including a large chunk of Lewiston - have landed on Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's list for a new federal tax incentive designed to drive long-term investment to low-income communities.

Congress approved the "Opportunity Zones" as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that became law in December. According to the Idaho Department of Commerce, the program allows private investment vehicles that spend 90 percent or more of their funds in an opportunity zone to earn tax relief on capital gains generated by the investment, with the benefits increasing over time.

Lewiston Community Development Director Laura Von Tersch said the tract the city nominated generally includes the area north of Eighth Avenue.

"This makes a certain area more appealing," she said. "We could really turn around North Lewiston and East Main."

The tax break also should be a boon for the new private ownership of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, which is set to make sizable capital investments in the next few years, Von Tersch added.

In addition to the Lewiston zone, Otter recommended areas in Kooskia, Riggins, Kamiah, Moscow, the Nez Perce Reservation and Clearwater County for the program. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has yet to release his recommendations. The deadline is April 20.

In all, Otter recommended 28 areas for the program out of the 59 applications his office received. As much as 25 percent of the areas in each state designated as low-income by the most recent U.S. Census could be recommended under terms of the act.

Low-income tracts are defined as those with a poverty rate of 20 percent or greater, or family incomes of less than 80 percent of the area's median income.

Von Tersch said an analysis of the program indicates that it could be lucrative, and possibly spur some developers who have been sitting on the fence.

"As compared to a dollar you put in the stock market, after the fees and taxes, if you put that same dollar in an opportunity zone, you'd have 40 cents more for every dollar you invested," Von Tersch said. "That sounds huge to me."

It also could be a deciding factor for existing businesses that want to expand or relocate, she said. Community Development will reach out to those who could potentially benefit from the program once the federal government officially designates the zones and writes rules for its implementation.

"We're going to be doing some roll-out when we get the final decision from (the U.S. Department of the Treasury) toward the end of the month, which should just be perfunctory," Von Tersch said. "Then we'll try to get the word out through the development and accounting communities and hopefully get some stuff going."

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.