Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson and Gov. Phil Bryant will be in Vicksburg Thursday to tour Vicksburg Forest Products LLC, 1725 North Washington St.

According to Information from HUD, Carson, who is chairman of the Opportunity and Revitalization Council organized by President Donald Trump, and Bryant will be visiting opportunity zones in Vicksburg and Jackson. The Vicksburg Forest Products visit at 10:30 a.m. is the first of two visits in the area. Carson and Bryant will visit a business in Jackson at 1:45 p.m.

The president signed an executive order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Dec. 12.

The council’s 13 federal member agencies will work with governments to develop more effective use of tax dollars to revitalize low-income communities to improve revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing federal programs to opportunity zones in economically distressed communities where new investments may be eligible for tax breaks.

It will also consider legislative proposals and regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization efforts and present the president with options to encourage capital investment in economically distressed communities.

President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act creating opportunity zones to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. The program offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas.

It is expected to encourage $100 billion in private capital investment in opportunity zones and help economic revitalization, job creation, and promotes sustainable economic growth across the nation, especially in communities HUD serves.