Tag: Jeffrey DeBoer

Final Treasury Rules Expand Reach of FIRPTA Tax Regime

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
The Treasury Department in Washington, DC

The Treasury Department issued final regulations this week that redefine what constitutes a domestically controlled REIT exempt from tax under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). The regulations create a new look-through rule that extends the reach of the discriminatory FIRPTA regime to common investment structures. (Final Regulations | Tax Notes, April 25 and Bloomberg Law, April 24)

New Look-Through Rule

  • By looking through a domestic C corporation to its shareholders, the new FIRPTA rules run counter to general tax principles, past IRS guidance, and historic precedent.  Moreover, the final regulations do not provide relief to widely held U.S. real estate funds with dispersed foreign ownership, even if the foreign investors are far removed and separate from the management and control of the U.S. funds’ activities. 
  • While the final rules increased the total percentage of foreign ownership of a C corp. necessary to trigger look-through treatment, the change offers little practical relief since participating U.S. investors typically will only invest in U.S. real estate through other channels (e.g., directly, through a partnership, or through a REIT).
  • Transition relief in the final regulations may offer some respite to certain foreign investors, depending on their facts and circumstances. The new look-through rule does not apply to preexisting business arrangements—but only if the entity does not acquire a significant amount of new real estate interests or undergo a significant change in its ownership during the 10-year transition period.

Roundtable Response

FIRPTA
  • Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer responded to the Treasury rules. “Foreign capital is badly needed to supplement domestically sourced capital in cities and downtowns that continue struggling to recover from the pandemic. The wide spread adoption of remote work, coupled with today’s high interest rates and decreased lending by banks is fueling a reinforcing cycle of declining investment, property values, and tax revenues that can only be countered through additional investment capital.”
  • “Unfortunately, the final Treasury rules on FIRPTA and domestically controlled REITs raise new barriers to passive foreign investment in U.S. real estate, including affordable housing and the conversion of underutilized office buildings,” DeBoer said.
  • The Real Estate Roundtable and some members of Congress had advocated for the withdrawal of the proposed regulations or significant changes. House Ways and Means Committee Members Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Carol Miller (R-WV) urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to drop the FIRPTA proposal. (Letter to Yellen, July 28, 2023 and real estate industry coalition letter, March 1, 2023 | Roundtable Weekly: Jan. 6, March 4 and Aug. 4, 2023) 

A Roundtable Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) working group is reviewing the most recent changes and considering potential policy and tax planning strategies going forward. The next TPAC meeting will be held on June 21 in conjunction with the all-member Roundtable Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

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Roundtable Congressional Testimony on April 30 Will Focus on Policy Actions to Strengthen CRE Markets

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer

Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer will testify next week before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services about the “Health of the Commercial Real Estate Markets and Removing Regulatory Hurdles to Ensure Continued Strength.” (Watch hearing here at 2pm EST on Tuesday, April 30)

CRE Market Conditions & Solutions

  • Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), commented on April 23 that the hearing will explore solutions to strengthen businesses that continue to struggle from the impact of pandemic-related government policies. She stated, “These businesses – including medical centers, warehouses, and offices – are crucial to our local economies and communities.” (McClain news release)
  • DeBoer’s testimony will recommend a range of policy actions that lawmakers and regulators should enact to strengthen CRE markets and encourage overall economic growth. Testimony will be available via RER and posted on the subcommittee website.
  • The other hearing witness will be Jeffrey Weidell (CEO, NorthMarq), chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors. (MBA news release, Oct. 15, 2023)

The Roundtable’s all-member June 20-21 Annual Meeting will include a Joint Research Committee and Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee Meeting to drill down on specific CRE capital and credit market trends and issues.

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Real Estate Roundtable Leaders Discuss Market Conditions, Policy Issues Facing CRE

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
Real Estate Roundtable Chair John Fish (Chairman & CEO, Suffolk)
Real Estate Roundtable Chair John Fish (Chairman & CEO, Suffolk) on Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week.

This week, Real Estate Roundtable Chair John Fish (Chairman & CEO, Suffolk) and Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer discussed market conditions and policy issues impacting commercial real estate with Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).

Markets and Federal Actions

  • Roundtable Chair John Fish addressed how current economic challenges facing commercial real estate, cities, communities, businesses and individuals have led to a somewhat “somber” mood in his Feb. 26 Wall Street Week interview.
  • Fish emphasized the importance of CRE to the overall economy and the need for policymakers to work with the industry to ensure a soft landing. He also discussed the wave of maturing CRE debt coming due at higher interest rates as remote-work continues to press the industry—and the ramifications of a large number of environmental regulations moving forward in a compressed time period.
  • The Roundtable’s chair noted, “Back in June of 2023, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC in the OCC issued forward guidance on working with borrowers, and that was credit worthy borrowers. I would encourage them to continue with their policy and reinforce that policy. It’s extremely important to the industry as a whole because creditworthy borrowers should not get hurt through this process.” (Roundtable Weekly, June 30, 2023)
  • He added, “We need the Federal government to work with us on interest rates. We also need the federal government to ask workers to come back to work. That’s one of the reasons why some of our buildings in downtown urban areas are 25, 30 percent vacant today. As an industry, we need to work together, collaborating with the government to try to solve these problems.” (Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week)

The Roundtable’s Policy Role

Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, right, with Jay Epstein, former president of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, left.
  • Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer spoke with Jay Epstein, former president of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers on the Feb. 26 edition of the ACREL Files podcast about The Roundtable’s policy advocacy role in Washington and compelling issues now facing the industry. 
  • DeBoer explained that The Roundtable is a unifier between industry and lawmakers on policies that benefit the economy and communities by using a non-partisan, data-centric, asset-based approach.
  • DeBoer also said the industry is at an inflection point as issues—including post-pandemic remote work and CRE needs, office-to-residential property conversions, affordable housing, building energy usage, insurance costs, and xenophobic attitudes to foreign real estate ownership—are “all rushing forward on top of the market challenges.” (ACREL Files podcast)

“By and large, the industry has stepped up to challenges, met them, and helped the economy and the country move forward.” He added, “Today there are other problems with financing and remote work, but I have no doubt the industry will overcome those challenges and emerge stronger.”

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Congressional Tax Package and Supreme Court Case Focal Points at Roundtable Meeting

Posted on by Scott Sherwood

Tax policy issues impacting commercial real estate were front and center during This Roundtable’s Jan. 23 State of the Industry (SOI) meeting as policy discussions with congressional tax writers, issue experts, and Roundtable members ranged from specific measures in a recently approved tax package by the House Ways and Means Committee to a landmark Supreme Court case.

Tax: What Lies Ahead

Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey Deboer shakes hands with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR)
  • Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), right with The Roundtable’s Jeffrey DeBoer, discussed the recent tax package passed by the House Ways and Means Committee and its uncertain path in the Senate. In addition to an expansion of the low-income housing tax credit, the $77 billion bill includes a retroactive, four-year extension (2022–2025) of the taxpayer-favorable EBITDA standard for measuring the amount of business interest deductible under section 163(j). It also contains an extension of 100% bonus depreciation through the end of 2025. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 19)
Tax panel with Ryan McCormick and congressional tax staff
  • “What’s in Front of Congressional Tax Writers: 2024 and Beyond” was explored by (left to right) Roundtable Senior Vice President and Counsel Ryan McCormick; Mark Roman, (Staff Director, Republican Majority House Ways and Means Committee); and Joshua Sheinkman (Staff Director, Democrat Majority Senate Finance Committee).  The congressional tax experts discussed measures in the recent tax package and noted the scheduled expiration of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) incentives at the end of 2025—and what proposals may emerge to extend them.

Supreme Court Challenge

• Roundtable Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) member Don Susswein (Principal, RSM US LLP)
  • Roundtable Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) member Don Susswein (Principal, RSM US LLP) presented an overview of an important Supreme Court case (Moore v. United States) that challenges the federal government’s constitutional authority to tax unrealized income. (Roundtable Weekly, Dec. 8)

TPAC holds monthly Zoom calls on timely, compelling tax policy issues affecting CRE. If you are interested in joining, contact The Roundtable’s Ryan McCormick.

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Senator Joe Manchin and Financier Michael Milken Among Roundtable’s SOI Meeting Guests

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
2024 photo: left, Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer with Roundtable Chair John Fish (Suffolk)

Roundtable Chair John Fish, right, (Chairman and CEO, Suffolk) and Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, left, launched this week’s Real Estate Roundtable 2024 State of the Industry (SOI) meeting, which focused on many of RER’s 2024 Policy Priorities. (See Executive Summary and the SOI meeting agenda)

  • The meeting featured a discussion with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Financier Michael Milken on America’s leadership role in the world. Additional presentations by prominent policymakers and industry leaders focused on issues of importance to commercial real estate, including updates on select market conditions by Roundtable members. (See below)

Economic Leadership & Future Challenges

Sen. Joe Manchin, left, with Financier Michael Milken at The Real Estate Roundtable's 2024 State of the Industry Meeing
  • Sen. Manchin, left, and Mr. Milken, right, discussed the need to preserve American economic leadership; the crucial, long-term importance of an educated workforce; and global demographic trends that pose new challenges to U.S. strength.
  • Sen. Manchin noted that he is retiring from the Senate at the end of this Congress but not retiring from his efforts to encourage bipartisan policy solutions to America’s big challenges such as immigration, the national debt and deficit, and electoral system issues.
  • An international financier and philanthropist, Mr. Milken discussed a variety of his successful initiatives in access to capital, medical research, education, and public health. He leads a new DC-based initiative called the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream while spearheading the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health issues affecting critical global issues.
The Real Estate Roundtable's 2024 State of the Industry Meeting was well attended.

Three additional U.S. Senators and other guests at the Jan. 23-24 SOI meeting addressed a variety of other policy issues, including affordable housing, tax policy, banking and climate regulations, evolving security threats, and the current election cycle. (RER’s 2024 SOI meeting agenda and stories below).

Next on The Roundtable’s 2024 meeting calendar is the Spring Meeting on April 15-16. The upcoming meeting is restricted to Roundtable-level members only. 

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RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer Recognized with Commercial Property Executive’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer

A “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the national publication Commercial Property Executive recognized the accomplishments of Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, who spoke about current policy challenges facing the industry, The Roundtable’s evolution, and the industry’s historical effectiveness in Washington. (Watch the Jan. 18 webcast | Read DeBoer’s written comments | CPE article, Jan. 19)

  • DeBoer noted that real estate is entering a period of increased national public policy risks, which include issues such as liquidity, energy and resiliency, tax policy, and more.  
  • DeBoer stated, “[The Roundtable’s] job is to focus on these policy risks, gather the facts, prepare the analysis, develop sound messages, and fine-tune our messages and our message delivery system.”
  • DeBoer added, “It’s very important that everyone in the industry recognize that to ignore Washington in the coming years is to increase business risk.”

Current and upcoming challenges facing the industry will be the focus of The Roundtable’s Jan. 23-24 all-member State of the Industry Meeting in Washington, DC.

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RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer to Receive Commercial Property Executive’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
Jeffrey DeBoer, President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable

Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, above, will receive Commercial Property Executive’s Lifetime Achievement Award during CPE’s virtual 2023 Influence Awards on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 1 pm ET, when he will deliver the keynote address. (Register here for the event)

As the founding President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable and in previous Washington-based positions, DeBoer has been at the forefront of national policy affecting the real estate industry for the past 40 years.

The prominent Capitol Hill publication, The Hill recently recognized DeBoer as one of the “Top Lobbyists” in Washington, DC for 2023. This was the sixth consecutive year DeBoer has been included in the list. (Roundtable Weekly, Dec. 8)

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Roundtable Chairman Raises Concerns About Florida Law Impacting Foreign Investments in Real Estate 

Posted on by Scott Sherwood
Real Estate Roundtable Chairman John Fish during The Roundtable's Fall 2023 Meeting

Roundtable Chairman John Fish (Chairman & CEO, Suffolk), above, was quoted in media articles this week raising concerns about certain aspects of a new Florida law that would limit and regulate the sale and purchase of certain Florida real property by “foreign principals” from “foreign countries of concern.”

Foreign Investment in Florida Property

  • Fish commented to Bloomberg about Florida’s SB 264, stating, “The law is far-reaching, very, very confusing, and the unintended consequences would be very, very detrimental.” (Bloomberg, Dec. 11 | Bisnow and Inman, Dec. 12)
  • The Real Estate Roundtable urged the Florida Real Estate Commission on Sept. 5 to consider specific concerns about implementing the state law, which could impair capital formation and hinder the important role legitimate foreign investment plays in U.S. real estate, the broader economy, and job growth. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 8)

Need for Clarifications

Florida State seal
  • In response, the Florida Department of Commerce on Sept. 21 proposed a positive clarification to one section of the law, which could have implications for similar laws in other states.
  • Montana and Alabama have also passed legislation with similar restrictions to Florida’s that ban the sale or lease of agricultural land, critical infrastructure, and properties near military bases to “foreign adversaries,” including China. (Inman, Dec. 12)
  • Broader prohibitions in another area of Florida’s SB 264—Section 204—generally preclude Chinese investors from acquiring “any interest”in any Florida real property anywhere in the state. The Roundtable is hopeful that Section 204 will be subject to clarification during the rulemaking process. (See highlighted areas in the Notice of Proposed Rule)
  • Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer noted in his Sept. 5 letter, “Our concern with the new law is that U.S.-managed investment funds, which are controlled and managed by U.S. nationals, may now be precluded from pursuing investment opportunities in Florida if there is any level of investor participation in the fund from countries of concern like China.”
  • The Roundtable is seeking a technical clarification that would permit U.S.-managed investment funds, which may include passive investor participation from investors across the globe to continue to pursue investment opportunities in Florida.
  • Non-U.S. investors routinely subscribe for small, generally passive minority interests in these funds. These investors exercise no control over the investments or the operation of the assets. Importantly, the investment decisions are made by the U.S.-managed funds, not by passive investors who simply commit capital for a return, not to control the underlying investments.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has launched the SecureFlorida Portal, where foreign principals from foreign countries of concern like China must register property.

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The Roundtable’s Jeffrey DeBoer Recognized as a “Top Lobbyist” for 2023

Posted on by Abigail Grenadier
Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer

Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, above, is one of the “Top Lobbyists” in Washington, DC for 2023, according to the widely-read Capitol Hill publication, The Hill.  This is the sixth consecutive year that DeBoer has earned the recognition. (The Hill, Dec. 6)

  • The Top Lobbyists 2023 list includes “impactful advocates (who) stand out for the results they’ve delivered for their clients, companies, trade associations and advocacy groups in the nation’s capital.”
  • The Hill also noted that after pandemic restrictions were lifted, “these top lobbyists had to navigate a divided Congress—and not just the traditional Republican and Democratic divisions” as a flood of regulatory activity flowed from the Biden administration.

DeBoer commented, “I am honored to lead The Real Estate Roundtable’s policy advocacy efforts and very humbled to be included on The Hill’s top lobbyist list. This personal recognition by The Hill reflects the collective efforts of the Roundtable membership, leadership, and staff. Together we work very hard to deliver non-partisan, data-based policy positions, guided by what is good for communities, job creation, and the economy. This has always been the foundation of our organization’s effectiveness, and it has proven to be even more critical given today’s increasingly challenging policy environment.”

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Congress Aims for Continuing Resolution by Nov. 18 Funding Deadline

Posted on by Scott Sherwood

Congress needs to pass a continuing resolution (CR) by next Saturday, Nov. 18 to avoid a partial government shutdown if appropriations bills are not enacted for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. (CQ and The Hill, Nov. 9)

CR vs Shutdown

  • New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) may introduce a funding bill early next week, giving only days for Congress to agree on a CR or risk a partial government shutdown. House Republican leaders have signaled they still may pursue a “laddered” approach—with several spending bills to last until December and the remainder in January. By contrast, The Senate is considering a short-term CR to fund the government until mid-December. (Punchbowl News, Nov. 9)
  • Another major consideration is a White House $106 billion supplemental request that includes aid for Ukraine and Israel. Republicans have voiced opposition to the package unless President Biden includes policy changes on border security.
  • Today, Biden commented today that he was “open to discussions about the border” on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One.
  • The administration has also requested another $56 billion for domestic policies that include childcare, broadband subsidies, and disaster relief. (Roll Call, Nov. 7)

CRE Conditions

  • Real Estate Roundtable Chairman Emeritus Bill Rudin, above, (Co-Chairman and CEO, Rudin Management Co.) this week discussed challenges facing CRE on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, including a massive wave of loans that need to be refinanced over the next few years and the need for property conversions.
  • Rudin emphasized that each CRE sector, and region, is different, noting that multifamily properties and high-quality commercial buildings may be doing well while certain office assets face significant challenges. The Roundtable’s Q4 Sentiment Index released last week reflects these conditions, which include higher financing costs, increased illiquidity, and uncertain post-pandemic user demand. (Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 3 and GlobeSt, Nov. 7)

Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer said, “Various CRE markets and asset classes need more time to adapt to the new preferences of clients; more flexibility to restructure their asset financing; and patience while adjusting to the evolving valuation landscape. In addition to conversion activities, The Roundtable continues to urge the federal government to return to the workplace and support measures to assist loan modifications and increase liquidity available to all asset classes and their owners. We also remain opposed to regulatory proposals that impede capital formation.” (Roundtable news release, Nov. 3)

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