{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1551-115/featured_economic-freedom-zones-act-of-2017-1501398241.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1551-115/featured_large_economic-freedom-zones-act-of-2017-1501398241.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1551-115.png"},"introduced_on":"2017-07-13","title_override":"Would 'Economic Freedom Zones' With Lower Taxes & Less Regulation Drive Job Growth in Impoverished Areas?","summary_override":"

This bill would aim to facilitate job growth, entrepreneurship, and improved educational opportunities by creating \"Economic Freedom Zones\" in economically distressed areas. Individuals and businesses investing in those areas would receive tax breaks, and would be exempt from complying with certain regulations.

An area designated as an Economic Freedom Zone would be prohibited from receiving federal assistance (e.g. loans, loan guarantees, or purchases). Economic Freedom Zones would be defined as a state, municipality, zip code, or rural area that is:

A debtor in a bankruptcy;
An insolvent municipality or state that can no longer pay its debts;
Eligible for bankruptcy;
Blighted with poverty and high rates of unemployment (defined as 1.5 times the national average or more).

After an Economic Freedom Zone is designated, this bill would activate tax incentives for individuals and corporations to invest in them by establishing:

5 percent flat tax rate on individual & corporate income in the zone;
0 percent capital gains tax rate on profits from the sale of assets and property in Economic Freedom Zones -- which could be tangible assets like property or intangible like stocks;
Reduced employment tax rates;
Increased allowance for business property expensing.

Economic Freedom Zones would be exempt from having to comply with some environmental regulations, historic preservation requirements, and wage rate requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act.

This bill amends the tax code to allow:

A $5000 tax credit for a student attending elementary or secondary school whose primary residence is in an Economic Freedom Zone.
A tax-exempt educational savings account for individuals living in an Economic Freedom Zone.
A tax credit, rather than a tax deduction, for contributions to a charitable organization serving individuals in an Economic Freedom Zone.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 would be amended to allow special allocation of grant funds to children whose families live in an Economic Freedom Zone and whose incomes are below the federal poverty level.

To widen the pool of investors, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary of Labor to issue Special Economic Freedom Zone Visas to aliens meeting educational & skill requirements who seek to enter the U.S. to invest in Economic Freedom Zones.

","official_title":"A bill to provide for the establishment of free market enterprise zones in order to help facilitate the creation of new jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, enhanced and renewed educational opportunities, and increased community involvement in bankrupt or economically distressed areas.","short_title":"Economic Freedom Zones Act of 2017","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Economic Freedom Zones Act of 2017 \n\nThis bill prohibits the federal government from providing: (1) assistance (e.g., loans, loan guarantees, or purchases) to a municipality or zip code, other than the assistance provided for in this bill for an area designated as an Economic Freedom Zone; and (2) financial assistance to a bankrupt or insolvent municipality, except as provided by this bill.\n\nThe bill sets forth requirements for designating municipalities, counties, cities, and zip codes as zones for a 10-year period, including bankruptcy eligibility, risk of insolvency, pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress.\n\nThe bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow reduced tax rates, tax credits, tax-exempt educational savings accounts, increased expensing of business property, and other tax incentives for individuals and businesses located in or investing in a zone.\n\n The zones are exempt from compliance with: (1) specified environmental regulations, (2) the Wild and Scenic R...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Families & individuals who live in an Economic Freedom Zone; prospective investors and entrepreneurs, areas designated as Economic Freedom Zones; state & local governments; the Internal Revenue Service; and the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security.","argument_for":"This bill would incentivize entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in economically depressed communities to revitalize themselves, and it doesn’t require a federal bailout or stimulus.","argument_against":"Economically distressed communities will need more assistance than just tax breaks. 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Would 'Economic Freedom Zones' With Lower Taxes & Less Regulation Drive Job Growth in Impoverished Areas?