To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: Nestled within the new proposed regulations issued by the IRS on April 12 (the "Proposed Regulations") that mainly address foreign investors is needed relief for current Opportunity Zone projects. Under the statute, a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business ("QOZB") must hold less than 5% of its assets as "nonqualified financial property," which includes various financial instruments but does not include (i) reasonable amounts of working capital held in cash, (ii) cash equivalents, or (iii) short-term debt. The current Opportunity Zone regulations (the “Regulations”) provide a "working capital safe harbor" that treats working capital as reasonable for the purposes of the statute if certain requirements are met. In general, the working capital must be subject to a written schedule for its expenditure within 31 months (the "Written Plan"). Further, the working capital must be spent in a manner that is substantially consistent with the Written Plan. Under certain circumstances, overlapping Written Plans can be utilized to extend the safe harbor period to a total of 62 months. Finally, if a QOZB is located in a federally declared disaster zone, it can receive up to 24 additional months to spend the working capital.