Opportunity Zone Magazine Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 4

4 OPPORTUNITY ZONE MAGAZINE | VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 3 TREASURY RESPONDS TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS BY OFFERING RELIEF FOR THE OZ INDUSTRY By Marc L. Schultz Treasury this month released new guidelines to help OZ investors and funds by extending deadlines and amending requirements. On June 4, 2020, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-39 to provide relief to investors and OZ funds due to the COVID-19 crisis. The change came in response to many OZ working groups as well as members of congress requesting a number of changes to certain timing and other requirements to address the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on OZ investments and transactions. The notice offers relief under Section 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides the Secretary of the Treasury with the ability to postpone the time for performing certain acts for up to one year under the Internal Revenue Laws for taxpayers determined to be affected by a federally declared disaster. On March 13, 2020, the president issued an emergency declaration under the Stafford Act instructing the secretary of treasury to provide relief under Code Section 7508A from tax deadlines as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Subsequently, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 territories were issued major disaster declarations, establishing the existence of major disasters beginning on OPPORTUNITYZONE.COM