Former Scott Staffer Sets Up Opportunity Zone Lobby Group (3)

A staffer for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), one of the creators of the 2017 tax law’s opportunity zone tax breaks, has left the senator’s office to launch a trade group that will represent investors taking advantage of the tax incentives.

Shafron “Shay” Hawkins, who confirmed his departure to Bloomberg Tax, founded the Opportunity Funds Association, a Section 501(c)(6) trade association, with Surya Gunasekara, a lobbyist and former chief of tax and tax counsel to former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio). The association will lobby on policy surrounding opportunity zones at the federal, state, and local levels, according to its website.