BAY ST. LOUIS, MS – Entrepreneurs can now begin taking advantage of tax breaks just for investing in Hancock County. Because of Opportunity Zones designated by Gov. Phil Bryant last year, community and business leaders in Bay St. Louis met Friday to discuss the benefits of this opportunity. According to the Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017, opportunity zones were established as a new community development program aimed to encourage long-term investments in low-income and rural communities. It is designed to provide tax relief for developers that invest in designated low-income areas. President and CEO of Renaissance Community Loan Fund, Kimberly LaRosa, spoke Friday morning at the Bay St. Louis Library about the benefits of these zones. “These opportunity zones allow tax payers who have capital gains to invest in investments within those opportunity zones,” LaRosa said. “For instance, if they wanted to develop retail establishments, they can take their capital gains and defer those capital gains for a number of years and invest in these properties. So, it can bring an economic stimulus, which it’s meant to do, into low income areas.”