The US Congress responded to the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina in December 2005 by passing the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (the "GO Zone Investment Act") that provides support to individuals and businesses struck by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. This act also offers tax and other financial deductions for companies taking part in the regional process of rebuilding and restoration. The Congress had previously passed in September 2005 the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA) that provided several tax code changes to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims and the taxpayers who helped the disaster victims. The GO Zone Investment Act has extended a large number of the KETRA provisions to the victims of Hurricane Rita and expanded some benefits to businesses that had been impacted by both hurricanes. The GO zone investment real estate companies have also been offered several tax and financial deductions for offering their support in this area. The Louisiana Governor has organized an investment seminar which presented Louisiana's investment opportunities and the appealing incentives provided by the GO Zone Investment Act of 2005, which was also signed by President-elect George W. Bush. The GO zone investment real estate businesses have experienced such a financial growth that the region has been declared the most pro-business investment environment in the history of the United States. New Orleans has definitely received the biggest share of news coverage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but we need to understand that other areas of the Gulf Coast were hit just as hard. The governor of Mississippi has described the Biloxi area as an American version of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Thus far, a large part of the GO zone investment real estate opportunity has been focused around rebuilding the casino barges that were literally lifted out of the water and the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge that was practically destroyed. The city and the vicinity areas are staging a dramatic comeback and the reconstruction is starting from almost zero (90% of the ocean front buildings have been destroyed); as such, opportunities abound and there are a number of GO zone investment opportunities in condos, townhomes and single family homes. In the Biloxi area, an estimated number of 75,000 new homes need reconstruction over the next few years, and sadly less than 10,000 of these homes have been built in the present. The rebuilding of an entirely new oceanfront of a city is unprecedented in the modern history of the U.S. This is definitely a rare chance for the GO zone real estate investment businesses to create a profitable investment portfolio with the benefit of tax incentives and cash credits as opposed to burdensome regulations and taxes. The disaster seems to have created several favorable investment factors as far as the business opportunities in the Biloxi area are concerned. The casinos are contributing to the economic growth, the low supply of housing contrasting with the high demand, the upgrading of the transportation system, and the smart money making opportunities to purchase real estate income property are creating a perfect environment for GO zone investment.
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