Media

In the wake of this this week's national pipe-bomb mail campaign, the implications for building security and terrorism risk insurance are profiled in today's The Real Deal.

Real Estate Roundtable Perspective: Opportunity Zone Regulations Answer Critical Questions Regarding Real Estate Investment

Treasury Releases Proposed Rules on Opportunity Zones Program Issues

Following the Nov. 6 mid-term elections, a “Lame Duck” session of Congress is expected to consider various tax policies of importance to commercial real estate.

Roundtable and Business Coalition Seek Administrative Relief, Shorter Cost Recovery Period for Nonresidential Real Estate Improvements

This week The Real Estate Roundtable, along with 239 businesses and trade groups, wrote to Secretary Mnuchin urging the Treasury Department to provide taxpayers with administrative relief from a drafting mistake in last year’s tax overhaul that increased the cost recovery period for qualified improvement property (QIP).

The Real Estate Roundtable on Monday submitted detailed recommendations to the Treasury Department on simplifying and streamlining the new 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through businesses.

Two recent letters – one from 16 Democratic Senators to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the other from 58 House Republicans to GOP leadership – urge policymakers to fix an unintentional drafting mistake in last year’s tax overhaul that mistakenly increased the cost recovery period for qualified improvement property (QIP).

Three federal banking agencies on Tuesday invited public comment on a proposal to modify capital rules for high volatility commercial real estate (HVCRE) exposures – as required by Sec. 214 of the bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).

An online anti-terrorism tool to help commercial office building security professionals perform facility assessments was released this week by The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate.

The Real Estate Roundtable and seven other national trade organizations wrote to congressional leaders this week opposing legislation that reverses or limits the Supreme Court's June 22 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, which allows States to collect tax owed on remote internet sales purchases.

The House Ways and Means Committee yesterday passed “Tax Reform 2.0” legislation along party lines (21-15) that would make permanent individual and pass-through business tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025. House leaders plan a full chamber vote by the end of this month to highlight the GOP’s signature economic policy achievement before the November mid-term elections.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first updates to its ENERGY STAR scoring models in over a decade, as the agency moved from 2003 to 2012 data for its foundation to rate buildings. (See Roundtable Weekly, Aug. 17.) EPA announced yesterday that it will commence a "review period" to solicit stakeholder feedback on these recent ENERGY STAR score updates. Certifications for office, industrial, and certain other building categories will be temporarily suspended during this review period.

As Hurricane Florence made landfall this morning near Wrightsville Beach, NC, the storm’s large size and slow speed are expected to produce severe flooding, affecting millions of individuals who have evacuated affected coastal areas and thousands of businesses in the Carolinas.

The Environmental Protection Agency continues the temporary suspension of ENERGY STAR building certifications, after assessing feedback from a number of building owners and stakeholders. Last month, the EPA announced it would commence a “review period” to solicit building owners feedback on recent ENERGY STAR scoring models, in response to the new model announced in August, which would unfairly downgrade some already certified ENERGY STAR buildings.

As House Republican leaders this week promoted a second round of tax cuts before the mid-term elections, Reps. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) and Joe Crowley (D-NY) introduced legislation yesterday to repeal the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA).

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on Sept. 6 unveiled a sweeping proposal to overhaul the housing finance system in the United States during a hearing entitled, "A Failure to Act: How a Decade without GSE Reform Has Once Again Put Taxpayers at Risk."

A broad-based business coalition that includes The Real Estate Roundtable urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday to issue guidance clarifying certain provisions included in tax overhaul legislation enacted last year — including the cost recovery period for qualified improvement property (QIP).

Senate Finance Committee Republicans yesterday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter requesting clarifications to the tax overhaul legislation enacted last year – including guidance related to a drafting error that unintentionally pushed the cost recovery period for qualified property improvements (QIP) from 15 to 39 years.

President Trump on Monday signed a defense funding bill into law that includes an expansion of federal authority to review and potentially block foreign investments based on national security considerations.