Trump urges investors to pour cash into opportunity zones

President Trump on Wednesday urged investors to pour their capital into poor and distressed “opportunity zones,” saying the Republicans’ 2017 tax overhaul means big advantages.

Companies that invest in one of the 8,000 zones across the U.S. will see a “big, fat, beautiful number of zero” on their capital-gains tax bill, the president said in his plea from the White House.

“They’re saying, ’No, I don’t want to go there, maybe I don’t love the location,’” Mr. Trump said. “Then they hear about the zero, they say, ’I think I’m going to go there.’ And then they start liking the location, right?”

Mr. Trump promoted the zones as the Treasury Department released its second round of guidance on how to invest in them. The guidance offered new leeway on the time frame for investing, plus arcane details on how they may allocate certain cash.

And it clarified what is or is not an asset within an opportunity zone that qualifies for tax advantages.

“We are pleased to issue guidance that provides greater flexibility for communities and investors as we continue to encourage investment and development in opportunity zones,” Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said. “This incentive will foster economic revitalization, create jobs and spur economic growth that will move these communities forward and create a brighter future.”

Republicans say opportunity zones will create thousands of jobs in areas that haven’t benefited from the post-recession recovery. The poverty rate is nearly double the national average in those communities.

White House officials said the program is starting to catch on, even if it may not be the most well-known part of the tax law.

“Who would have thought this was going to be so successful?” Mr. Trump said.

George Flaggs, mayor of Vicksburg, Mississippi, said opportunity zone investments recently saved a vital factory in his city.

“That’s bread on the table. That’s meat in somebody’s kitchen,” he said.

Mr. Trump used his speech to bolster his entire economic agenda, saying he has seen progress in striking a trade deal with China and that he’s helping the downtrodden get a foothold in the American dream.

He cited his criminal-justice reform bill to give ex-prisoners a second chance, and argued blue-collar workers with lower incomes are seeing the fastest rate of wage increases under his policies.

Mr. Trump didn’t take questions from reporters after his remarks Wednesday, the eve of the release of a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Democrats are eager to see what’s in the 400-page report, after a four-page summary from Attorney General William P. Barr said there was no conspiracy with Russia to subvert the election, and not enough evidence to pursue an obstruction of justice case.

Some Republicans, echoing the president, say the top-line findings are what matters, so it’s time to turn the page.

“They’re going to dig into this thing and try to find anything and everything they can to continue the attack on the president,” Rep. Bill Johnson, Ohio Republican, told the Fox Business Network. “Here’s what we know: There was no collusion, and there was no obstruction, and the American people are wanting us to move on from this.”