Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner could benefit from a real estate program they helped pushed through that offers tax breaks to developers who invest in destitute areas in the U.S., according to a new report.
President Trump’s son-in-law, a White House adviser, holds a stake via a holding company in a real estate investment firm that recently announced it is going to be taking advantage of the Opportunity Zone program, the Associated Press revealed in an investigation.
Although there is no direct evidence that the two were involved in selecting the so-called Opportunity Zones, the conflict adds to a list of ethical questions over their roles as advisers to Trump while still holding their real estate investments.
Separately, Kushner and Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka, also a White House adviser, also have financial interests in 13 other properties that fall in these zones in Maryland, New Jersey, and New York that could qualify for the tax breaks.
“Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide,” the Economic Innovation Group says on its website. “The Opportunity Zones program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing into Opportunity Zones designated by the chief executives of every U.S. state and territory.”
