U.S. Senator James Lankford this week got the opportunity to ask Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about how Opportunity Zones operate in states like Oklahoma which have legalized marijuana in some form. During the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing Lankford asked how Opportunity Zone tax credits would be handled concerning businesses which are illegal in federal law.
Opportunity Zones were created by the tax reform law passed in 2017 to encourage economic development in specifically recognized areas in states through federal tax credits.
Mnuchin noted that the rise in the number of states legalizing cannabis has created an issue when the IRS collects taxes from those businesses. He did not know the specific guidance on the rules for Opportunity Zones, but believed it was an issue for Congress to address.
Lankford also asked the Treasury Secretary about his agency’s work to prevent U.S. dollars from being used by terrorists and drug cartels, as well as, cooperation between the Treasury Department and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
Editor’s Note: Delegation on Pot is The McCarville Report’s series of stories on the stances held by the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation concerning marijuana policy. Because Oklahoma is one of the latest in a majority of states to legalize cannabis in some form, interest is beginning to turn to federal policy. More than two dozen pieces of legislation have been filed in Congress this year. Our Senators and Representatives will likely come across these bills in committee and on floor debate and votes.
You can watch Lankford’s Q&A with Mnuchin below. The questioning about Opportunity Zones and marijuana businesses starts at 3:32.
