Welcoming Governor Henry McMaster to Fairfield County are, from left, Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas, County Administrator Jason Taylor, Councilwoman Bertha Goins, Representative MaryGail Douglas and Councilman Neil Robinson. | Barbara Ball
WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Commerce Center on Peach Road was the site of Governor Henry McMaster’s announcement last Friday of a federal program that proposes to give extra incentives to companies who invest in new jobs and business in impoverished areas throughout the state. These areas are designated as Opportunity Zones.
Accompanying McMaster were Senator Ralph Norman and S.C. Commerce Director Bobby Hitt.
McMaster made the announcement in Fairfield County where, last summer, the V.C. Summer nuclear plant abandoned the construction of two nuclear reactors, leaving 5,000 people without jobs.
McMaster said there will be 135 Opportunity Zones in the state, at least one in each of the 46 counties.
“This gives us the extra punch, the extra opportunity, that will transform economic growth and development,” McMaster said. He said these Opportunity Zones will bring a new era of prosperity in South Carolina.
Hitt told Fairfield County officials that companies are lined-up to do business in the state. The zones are expected to be approved by the Department of Treasury in the next 30 days. The program is part of the tax reform Congress passed at the end of 2017.
When communities are classified as Opportunity Zones, more tax cuts are offered to businesses who open businesses in those zones.
