Taxes. Everyone hates paying them, yet taxes – capital gains taxes in particular – are the key ingredient that makes Opportunity Zones so attractive to everyone involved in the industry, from investors to developers to fund managers to everyone in between. While everyone is talking about the great incentives Opportunity Zones investing provides to those investors seeking to defer their tax exposure, no one is talking about the consequences of non-compliance with the rules that investors and fund managers may not even be aware of! That’s why we brought on CPA Christain Blake from Holthouse Carlin Van Trigt, LLP in Park City, Utah to talk about what tax implications mean to everyone in the Opportunity Zones Marketplace – as well as getting his insights in what makes for a successful fund from a tax perspective and why he calls Opportunity Zones “the most well designed, powerful tax provision” that he’s seen over his entire career as a CPA.
The floodgates are starting to open as a result of the newest round of Opportunity Zone guidelines that have recently been released. But as a result, these new rules are creating more and more questions as more confusion results, especially from a taxpayer perspective. What happens if your fund doesn’t keep up with Opportunity Zone eligibility requirements? Does it lose OZ status? Does that mean you have to pay increased penalties? And how would you even know? The information provided on this podcast episode is not to be missed! It may save you from making a big mistake which may cost you a significant amount of money if the fund you invested in is not conforming to state tax requirements (which is the prime reason for the Opportunity Zones Authority).
Questions? Comments? Need more info? Mr. Blake can be reached directly at 562-305-8050 and more information can be found at his website at www.hcvt.com, where you can also find info on the state of Opportunity Zone investing… and don’t forget to attend this week’s Opportunity Zone Expo in Las Vegas to see his presentation on the industry panel.
ABOUT OUR GUEST: Blake Christain
Blake brings over 35 years of experience providing tax consulting and compliance services to clients that include multinational, publicly traded corporations, as well as closely held owner-managed businesses. Throughout his entire career, Blake has specialized in federal, state and local tax incentive programs. Blake is leading the firm’s efforts in providing tax consulting services for Qualified Opportunity Zones. A thought leader, Blake has been recently interviewed by US News and World Reports and other national publications providing insights into this powerful, yet complex, tax incentive program and has authored several articles and HCVT Tax Alerts about Qualified Opportunity Zones (OZ) and Qualified Opportunity Funds. Blake has developed unique insights into OZ strategies for real estate developers and investors, as well as for operating business start-ups and expansions. In addition to tax incentive consulting, Blake provides partnership and individual tax planning and compliance services. His industry experience is broad and includes manufacturing and distribution, service companies, restaurant, shipping and transportation, energy and healthcare.
Blake joined HCVT to open the firm’s Long Beach office over 26 years ago and opened the firm’s Park City, Utah office in 2014. Blake has served, in leadership positions on numerous community boards including the Long Beach Community Foundation as Vice Chair, Cal State Long Beach Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership Governing Council, and the Long Beach Rotary where he served as president. Blake is also an active member of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and served as chairperson and is a regular member of the Park City Rotary Club, The Egyptian Theater and the Park City Chamber of Commerce. Blake was named as one of the Top 10 California Accounting Professionals in 2015 and 2014. The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce awarded Blake the 2016 Community Spirit Award for his economic development work and leadership in the California Enterprise Zone program.
Blake is a frequent contributor to leading industry related publications. TaxConnections.com named Blake as one of the Top 50 Tax Bloggers in the US. Blake has been a contributing columnist for the AICPA CPA Insider, a past columnist for the AICPA Corporate Tax Insider Newsletter, and is a regular contributor to the Long Beach Business Journal as well as numerous other publications. He has lectured at a number of universities, including University of Southern California (MBT Program) and California State University Long Beach (Annual Tax Conference), BYU and University of Utah, as well as various business and tax forums throughout the country. Blake has also been a technical resource for many news organizations, including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Press-Telegram, KTLA News, Park City TV, KNX NewsRadio, and KFI Radio KPCW.
Blake began his career at KPMG LLP and was admitted to its partnership. Blake holds a master’s of taxation from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a minor in finance from California State University, Long Beach. Active in both the Long Beach and Park City communities. Blake supports the fundraising efforts of LB and PC Rotary, the LB and PC Community Foundations, Plant LB, The Egyptian Theater/ Save Our Stage and the National Ability Center.
IMPORTANT!
All information provided is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended as legal or investment advice for anyone to make an investment in any one particular company and is not intended for any companies to rely on this information to form an opinion to go public or not to go public or to do any type of offering of securities. You must check with a securities attorney to find out if an offering is for you, or if you are going to be in the business of selling any type of securities, you need to make sure you are following your state and federal legislative law so you do not get into any troubles. Do not use the opinions as stated on this show as any way to form an opinion as what is wrong or right or what could be done for your business or as an investor.
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