Will Colombia’s ‘Opportunity Zones’ Help Drive Growth?

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Comments from Associate Attorneys Javier Coronado and Marcela Blanco.

 

As part of his proposed tax reform, Colombian President Iván Duque is pushing a version of so-called “opportunity zones,” which in Colombia’s case would seek to spur investment in economically depressed rural areas by eliminating taxation on investment gains in such areas. Meantime, more organizations around the world are incorporating socially conscious criteria in measuring their performance. To what extent would an initiative like Colombia’s help drive development? How would moves to bolster impact investing affect bank lending and profits? How much are such initiatives in Latin America affecting financial services providers and more traditional capital markets?