Ira Stechel spoke to PERE, also known as Private Equity Real Estate, about the recent surge in capital commitments for Opportunity Zones funds. According to the article, more than $2 billion in equity was raised between December 10 and January 8, triggered by the December 31 deadline to receive maximum benefits under the program. Despite the surge in fundraising, experts told PERE that the program remains short of expectations. 

Stechel explained the favorable tax approach by the U.S. Department of Treasury, “The tenor of the regulations is very taxpayer friendly. Treasury could have gone either way on a lot of issues, toward the government or the taxpayers, and in every instance, they favored the taxpayers.”