News Type: Roundtable Weekly

Coalition Requests Changes to Treasury Tax Regulations Affecting Outbound Foreign Real Estate Investment

Posted on by Trey Jackson

IRS BuildingThe Real Estate Roundtable and four other national trade groups submitted recommendations to modify proposed Treasury regulations regarding partnerships and other pass-through entities that own direct or indirect interests in a passive foreign investment company (PFIC). (Read PFIC comment letter, April 25)

Passive Foreign Investment Companies and Proposed Regulations

  • A PFIC is a foreign corporation that derives a significant share of its income from passive sources or primarily owns assets that are held for the production of passive income, including capital gains, interest, dividends and rent. PFICs commonly arise when structuring investment funds and pooling capital to invest in foreign real estate.
  • Special U.S. tax rules apply to PFIC income. The rules generally accelerate the recognition of PFIC income by PFIC shareholders, or impose an interest charge if the income is deferred. PFIC shareholders can elect which tax regime to apply.
  • Recently proposed Treasury regulations would require any U.S. partner of a partnership that directly or indirectly owns a PFIC to make PFIC-related tax elections at the individual partner level, in addition to other changes.

Recommended Changes

PFIC Coalition logos

  • The April 25 coalition letter suggests the proposed rules would result in an exponential increase in the number of separate PFIC filings, greater administrative burdens and a higher cost of compliance. The rules would also lead to inadvertent failures to file elections since small investors are less well-versed in the PFIC rules than the investment partnerships and their advisors.
  • The letter also urges the IRS to allow partnerships to make PFIC elections at the entity level for all partners, including on behalf of indirect partners who own their interest through an upper-tier partnership. A partnership could make the election for a partner through a partner’s grant of a power of attorney to the general partner of the partnership. An implicit delegation of this authority (e.g., the authority in the partnership agreement to file tax returns) would be sufficient.
  • “If Treasury incorporates these changes,” said Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, “the end result will be less friction and expense for real estate funds as they raise and deploy capital for productive real estate investment.”

Other signatories of the letter include the Alternative Investment Management Association, the American Investment Council, the Managed Funds Association, and the S Corporation Association.

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CRE Leaders and Lawmakers Discuss Domestic Policy Agenda, Ukraine, Climate and Economic Issues

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Real Estate Roundtable Spring 2022 Meeting

National lawmakers and Real Estate Roundtable members met this week to discuss domestic and geopolitical issues affecting the economy and industry—including inflation and the Fed; the congressional legislative agenda; and the war in Ukraine. The Roundtable’s 2022 Spring Meeting also featured a discussion on climate-related financial and regulatory proposals. (Roundtable April 2022 Policy Issue Profiles and Executive Summary) 

Senator Sinema & Market Conditions 

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) at RER's 2022 Spring Meeting

  • A discussion with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), above, on policymaking in the Senate launched The Roundtable meeting on April 25. 
  • Roundtable Chair John Fish (Chairman & CEO, Suffolk) and Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer led a dialogue among industry executives and House and Senate members on CRE market conditions. Roundtable members offered their views on inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, and back-to-office challenges. 

Ukraine, Climate and the Fed 

  • On April 26, Roundtable members convened for policy discussions with the following guests:
     
  • Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Alexander Vindman
     L to R: Jeffrey DeBoer, Alexander Vindman, John FishA 20-year military veteran, former Director with the White House’s National Security Council, and now a senior advisor with VetVoice Foundation, Mr. Vindman addressed the war in Ukraine. “It is a geopolitical earthquake that will shape how power is used in the 21st century,” Vindman said, adding that an eventual reconstruction effort will require a massive international effort involving public-private partnerships and private equity. (Photo: left to right, Jeffrey DeBoer, Mr. Vindman, and John Fish)
  • Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) 
     Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
    As a member of the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Finance, and Joint Economic Committee, Sen. Cassidy provided his insight on the congressional agenda, including economic and energy policy issues. “The real estate sector acts as both a leading indicator and a reflection of what is happening in our communities across the country,” said Cassidy, above left. At right is Roundtable Chair John Fish.
  • Climate Panel
    Tony Malkin and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)A Roundtable panel addressed climate-related issues and their impact on investor demand, property values and interest rates. (Video of the discussion). The panel also discussed regulatory issues such as the SEC’s proposed climate risk disclosure rule. (Roundtable Weekly, March 25). Speakers included:

Roy Hilton March, Kathleen McCarthy and Bill Stein

  • Former Fed Board Member Kevin Warsh 
     Kevin Warsh and Scott RechlerWarsh, above left, a former member of the Fed Board of Governors (2006-2011), discussed the Fed’s potential actions to temper inflation and guide the economy to a “soft landing” with Roundtable Member Scott Rechler, right, (Chairman & CEO, RXR Realty), who serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Board of Directors. 

Next on The Roundtable’s meeting calendar is the all-member June 16-17 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. 

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Roundtable Warns SEC Proposed Rules Affecting Private Fund Advisers Pose Unnecessary Burden on Capital Formation and Investment

Posted on by Trey Jackson

SEC logo on wall with American flag

The Roundtable submitted comments this week to address the potential negative consequences of recently proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations affecting real estate private equity investment fund advisers. (SEC comment letter, April 25) 

Negative Consequences 

  • The Roundtable’s April 25 comments detail how the proposal could have a negative impact on real estate private fund disclosures, reporting, fees and expenses, and operations—with significant results for the $18-trillion private fund adviser marketplace.
  • The letter also explains how the Commission’s extensive reporting requirements proposed under the new rules would increase compliance costs, decrease returns for all private fund investors and drive smaller fund sponsors away from the market. (SEC Feb. 9 News Release | Proposed Rule | Fact Sheet)
  • The Roundtable letter raises concerns that the SEC proposal, if finalized, could hinder real estate capital formation; harm development and improvement of real properties; and curtail essential economic activity that encourages job creation. 

Interrelated, Multiple Rulemakings 

SEC building

  • The SEC, above, has proposed a number of other complex rules with potentially wide-ranging, significant consequences—all at the same time—and given the public abnormally short, 30-day comment windows to participate in these interrelated rulemakings. (Roundtable Weekly, April 8)
  • The Commission’s private fund adviser proposal is one of many of these rulemakings. This rulemaking alone seeks open-ended and extensive information from stakeholders and the public, including more than 800 individual questions and more than 60 specific questions on the cost-benefit analysis portion.
  • The Real Estate Roundtable and 24 other national business organizations recently submitted comments to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler regarding the need for more time to assemble meaningful stakeholder analysis as part of the rulemaking process. (Coalition letter, April 5) 

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to engage the SEC on its various rulemakings and address individual proposals in more detail at its next meeting on June 16 during The Roundtable’s all-member June 16-17 Annual Meeting.  

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Biden Administration Issues Rules Affecting Environmental Approval and Sourcing of Major Infrastructure Projects

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Infrastructure highway construction San Diego

The Biden administration announced this week the restoration of strict environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. Additionally, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new guidance to help federal agencies implement the “Build America, Buy America” sourcing provisions passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) last November. (PoliticoPro and Council on Environmental Quality, April 19)

Project Permitting & Climate Change

  • The environmental guidelines will revive how federal agencies authorize and issue permits for infrastructure construction projects. The regulations reaffirm that Federal agencies must evaluate all environmental impacts – including those associated with climate change – during reviews of proposed projects like bridges, mass transit and energy generation. (Wall Street Journal, April 19)
  • A second, broader proposal with additional changes is expected later this year. It is uncertain how the regulatory review guidance will affect projects authorized in the Roundtable-supported $1 trillion IIJA. (White House Council on Environmental Quality, April 19, 2022 and Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 12, 2021)
  • The restored regulations, which take effect on May 20, will also allow federal agencies to adopt environmental review standards that are more stringent than what is outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA environmental review rules were in effect since 1970 before the Trump administration scaled them back in 2020. (Reuters, July 15, 2020)
  • Under Trump’s revisions, full environmental-impact statements were required to be completed within two years, while less comprehensive reviews had a one-year deadline. (Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2020)

Infrastructure Materials Sourced in America

Pouring Steel

  • The OMB’s preliminary guidance issued this week instructs federal agencies how to implement new “Buy America” requirements applicable to federally funded infrastructure projects. (Associated Press, April 18)
  • The IIJA requirement provision mandates that all federal agencies must ensure that a “Buy America” requirement applies to all infrastructure projects that receive federal financial assistance, whether or not funded through IIJA. (National Law Review Q&A, April 20)
  • The new requirements, which take effect on May 14, require material purchased for infrastructure projects be produced in the U.S, with waivers included in case there are either not enough U.S. producers or domestic material costs prove excessive. (White House blog, April 20)

The Biden administration’s effort to increase domestic manufacturing and ease supply chain pressures from overseas sourcing comes as inflation has reached a 40-year high ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 12)

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Inflation Threatens Biden Agenda as Fed Chair Powell Addresses Raising Interest Rates

Posted on by Trey Jackson

White House Spring

President Joe Biden traveled throughout the country this week to promote the benefits of infrastructure projects as rising inflation threatens his administration’s revamped “Building a Better America” domestic agenda. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell affirmed expectations that interest rates will begin increasing next month with consumer inflation running at an annual pace of 8.5 percent. (NBC News, April 19 and Associated Press, April 20) 

Revising “Build Back Better”

  • Democrats are expected to resuscitate parts of the moribund Build Back Better (BBB) Act when Congress returns on April 25 by focusing on a scaled-back package to attract enough party line support in the 50-50 Senate for passage. (Roundtable Weekly, April 15)
  • A key consideration for Senate Democrats and the White House will be agreement on policy priorities with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who rejected the administration’s BBB social and climate policy package late last year. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 21)
  • Sen. Manchin cited inflation as one of his top concerns about passing more spending bills. “Getting inflation under control will require more aggressive action by a Federal Reserve that waited too long to act,” Manchin recently said. (The Hill, April 12)
  • Sen. Sinema will discuss the current policy landscape in Congress with Real Estate Roundtable members next week in Washington DC during The Roundtable’s April 25 Spring Meeting.
  • Rising consumer prices and inflation have been a focus of Republicans as the mid-term elections are only about six months away. (BGov and Fortune, April 20)
  • House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) on April 12 discussed inflation’s threat to small businesses and the administration’s agenda on CNBC’s Squawkbox. 

Fed & Interest Rates

Fed Chair Jerome Powell

  • The Consumer Price Index’s rise to 8.5 percent last month – the fastest annual increase in 40 years – sparked expectations that the Fed will move aggressively to raise interest rates. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 12 and CBS News, April 21) 
  • The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will meet next on May 3-4 to consider monetary policy, the discount rate and consider a reduction in the nearly $9 trillion in bonds on its balance sheet.
  • Powell, above, commented  yesterday on the Fed’s target for annual price increases. “We really are committed to using our tools to get 2 percent inflation back,” he said, adding, “It’s absolutely essential to restore price stability.” 
  • Powell also noted a half point interest rate increase next month may be the start of future interest rate increases. “I would say 50 basis points will be on the table for the May meeting,” he stated. (CNBC, April 21)
  • He also said the Fed will act to get demand and supply back in balance, “so that inflation moves down and does so without a slowdown that amounts to a recession.” (CNBC, April 21)
  • The Fed also released this week its latest “Beige Book” containing anecdotal information on current economic conditions. The report stated “supply chain backlogs, labor market tightness, and elevated input costs continued to pose challenges” and that “outlooks for future growth were clouded by the uncertainty created by recent geopolitical developments and rising prices.” (Fed’s Beige book, April 20) 

The Roundtable’s Spring Meeting next week will include a discussion with former Fed Board Member Kevin Warsh on inflation, interest rate expectations, potential asset bubbles and other economic challenges.

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Roundtable CEO Questions Wisdom of Administration’s Proposed Carried Interest Tax Increase

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Jeffrey DeBoer, Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO

This week, Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, above, challenged the Administration’s recently proposed budget, which would recharacterize nearly all real estate carried interest as ordinary income, in Bisnow, a prominent commercial real estate media outlet. (Bisnow, April 13) 

Taxing Carried Interest as Ordinary Income 

  • President Biden’s budget includes tax proposals recycled from last year that failed to pass congressional  negotiations, including taxing long-term capital gains at ordinary income rates – and taxing carried interest in real estate partnerships as ordinary income. (Roundtable Weekly, April 1) 
  • In Bisnow’s “Taxing Carried Interest as Ordinary Income: The Idea that Never Dies, but Never Becomes Law Either,” DeBoer noted, “The president’s carried interest budget proposal would, for the first time, limit capital gain tax treatment to the return on cash and cash-equivalent investment. This would ignore the reality that real estate owners and developers bear significant financial risks beyond their capital contribution.”
  • DeBoer added, “The capital gains tax incentive has always recognized and rewarded other factors beyond just invested cash, including the assumption of construction, litigation and market risk, as well as the sweat equity associated with owning investment real estate.“
  • Targeting tax evaders and illegal transactions is appropriate, DeBoer noted, but he emphasized that penalizing entrepreneurship and discouraging noncash risk-taking by recharacterizing all carried interest as ordinary income would be a mistake.
  • Proposals to recharacterize carried interest as ordinary income have been introduced in Congress perennially since 2007. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a provision extending the holding period requirement from one to three years for carried interest to qualify for the reduced long-term capital gains tax rate. 

Carried interest and other tax issues outlined in The Roundtable’s recently released 2022 Policy Agenda will be discussed during the April 25-26 Spring Meeting (Roundtable-level members only) in Washington DC.  

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Republican Members Propose Shortening Depreciation Period of Buildings

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Modern buildings and American flag

Legislation introduced by a handful of influential Republicans in the House and Senate would shorten the depreciation period for structures to 20 years and adjust depreciation deductions upwards every year to account for inflation and a real rate of return on capital. (Tax Notes, April 13) 

Legislation vs. Biden Budget Proposal 

  • The Renewing Investment in American Workers and Supply Chains Act was introduced in the House by senior Ways and Means Committee Member Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Republican Study Committee Chairman John Banks (R-IN). Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber. (Joint news release, April 11)
  • The bill would reduce the cost recovery period for nonresidential property from 39 years to 20 years, and for residential rental property from 27.5 to 20 years.
  • In addition to shortening depreciation periods, the bill would enhance depreciation deductions by providing an adjustment for inflation and a return on capital (3%). The deduction adjustment would not be counted against the property’s basis or for purposes of depreciation recapture.
  • The changes would not be limited to new construction, but would apply to existing properties (adjusted for remaining basis), as well as properties that change ownership.
  • The nonpartisan Tax Foundation, a highly regarded research institution in Washington, estimated the bill would boost long-run GDP by 1.2 % and expand employment by 230,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Over the current 10-year budget window, when factoring in the positive macroeconomic feedback, the policy would increase federal revenue by $126.6 billion. (Tax Foundation, March 24)
  • The legislation stands in stark contrast to President Biden’s proposed budget, which would raise the tax burden on structures by eliminating the reduced 25% tax rate that applies to recaptured depreciation deductions when a property is sold. The Biden budget would tax depreciation recapture at a rate of 39.6%. (Roundtable Weekly, April 1)

The release of President Biden’s second budget launched the annual congressional appropriations process, which aims to fund the FY23 government budget starting Oct. 1. The prospects for tax increase proposals before the Nov. 8 mid-term elections are highly uncertain. (Politico, March 28 – “Here’s what’s in Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget proposal – and what’s next”)

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House and Senate to Consider Legislation Targeting Beneficial Ownership of Real Estate Assets

Posted on by Trey Jackson

House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Legislation to strengthen anti-money laundering laws affecting real estate will be introduced soon by House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA), above, following a bipartisan bill targeting U.S. assets of Russian oligarchs that was introduced last week in the Senate. (Politico, April 11 and Senate news release, April 8) 

Beneficial Ownership 

  • In the Senate, the bipartisan “Kleptocrat Liability for Excessive Property Transactions and Ownership (KLEPTO) Act” was introduced by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). The bill (S.4075) includes:
    • Requirements for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to mandate disclosure of beneficial ownership information (the identity of the real person behind an entity) for all real estate transactions through legal entities;

    • Requirements for FinCEN to extend anti-money laundering safeguards to the real estate sector;

    • Clarification that any foreign entity that buys or holds real estate in the U.S. should be considered a “reporting company” under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). 

FinCEN Efforts 

FinCEN logo

  • The congressional push to address anti-money-laundering measures in real estate follows FinCEN’s work on anti-money laundering regulations that were proposed long before Russia invaded Ukraine.
  • FinCEN solicited comments on a wide range of questions related to its implementation of the CTA – enacted on January 1, 2021 – that effectively bans the registration of anonymously owned shell companies in the United States. (JD Supra, April 26 and Lexology, April 28) 
  • Ten national real estate industry organizations, including The Roundtable, on Feb. 21 submitted detailed comments to FinCEN on proposed anti-money laundering regulations affecting real estate transactions. (Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 25)  

Industry Concerns  

  • The Feb. 21 industry letter supports the broad goal of preventing the use of LLCs or any form of real estate to finance illicit acts, money laundering, or terrorism – yet emphasizes that FinCEN should proceed cautiously to not harm legitimate real estate capital flows in the process.

  • The coalition also stated that anti-money laundering rules and requirements should focus on mitigating criminal activity while not burdening legitimate actors with unnecessary or duplicative compliance, which will only increase costs without meaningfully combating money laundering.
  1. Study the commercial and multifamily real estate markets to tailor future regulation to how those markets function;
  2. Leverage the CTA and the beneficial ownership database to reduce the necessary scope of further action; and
  3. Distinguish nonbank commercial real estate lenders from true all-cash transactions.

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) will continue to work with industry partners to respond to FinCEN’s proposals. The industry will also continue to support a balanced approach that inhibits illicit money laundering activity while not restricting capital formation or increasing the regulatory burden on real estate. 

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Democrats Considering Spring Revisions to Build Back Better Act

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Rep. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)

Democrats are planning to work with Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), left, and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), right, this spring to resuscitate parts of the moribund Build Back Better (BBB) Act, in hopes that a scaled-back domestic policy package can pass the 50-50 Senate under the budget reconciliation process. (Business Insider, April 13) 

The Manchin View 

  • Manchin and Sinema remain key votes in the Senate after their reluctance to approve the Biden Administration’s BBB social and climate policy package last year. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 21)
  • Manchin, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has signaled his support for a much smaller package that would include climate programs, prescription drug reform, and reversal of Trump-era tax cuts that would generate savings for deficit reduction. (Politico, April 4)
  • Manchin also issued a statement on April 12 about consumer inflation rising to 8.5%, the largest 12 month increase in four decades. “Getting inflation under control will require more aggressive action by a Federal Reserve that waited too long to act. It demands the Administration and Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, support an all-the-above energy policy because that is the only way to bring down the high price of gas and energy while attacking climate change,” Manchin said.
  • Additionally, he commented this week about the possibility of revised BBB negotiations, “We’ll just see if there’s a pathway forward. We don’t know if there’s a pathway forward yet.” (Business Insider, April 13) 

Sinema & Taxes 

Capitol-Dome-night-flag

  • Sinema offered her views this week, commenting, “What I can’t tell you is if negotiations will start again or what they’ll look like. But what I can promise you is that I’ll be the same person in negotiations if they start again that I was in negotiations last year.” (Arizona Republic, April 13)
  • She added, “I am unwilling to support any tax policies that would put a break on  economic growth or stall personal or economic growth for America’s industries.” (Arizona Republic, April 13)
  • Sinema noted last week that she wants to ensure any spending package is “responsibly offset and that new revenue provisions protect qualified small business income where possible.” (NFIB Tax Summit, April 7)
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this week stated, “Sinema is unenthusiastic about tax hikes. Hopefully that will be enough to keep [BBB-related legislation] underwater permanently.” (Business Insider, April 12)
  • Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) noted Congress is on a tight deadline to pass a reconciliation package after they return from recess on April 25. “You either do it before Memorial Day or you’re not going to do it,” Kaine said. (Politico, April 4)

Sen. Sinema will be a guest at The Roundtable’s April 25-26 Spring Meeting in Washington, DC. (Roundtable-level members only)

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Roundtable and Broad Business Coalition Request SEC to Provide Appropriate Comment Time Periods for Multiple Rulemakings

Posted on by Trey Jackson

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler

A regulatory push on multiple fronts by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prompted The Real Estate Roundtable and 24 other national business organizations this week to submit comments to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, above, about the need for more time to assemble meaningful stakeholder analysis as part of the rulemaking process. (Coalition letter, April 5)

SEC Proposals & CRE 

  • A long list of recent, overlapping SEC proposals affecting business are cited in the coalition letter, including four rulemakings that could significantly impact the real estate industry: 

1.)  Jan. 26 – the SEC issued a proposal that would impose new reporting requirements on real estate investment and private equity advisers, including a mandate to file reports (Form PF) within one business day of certain events. (SEC News Release | Fact Sheet | Proposed Rule)

  • The Roundtable’s March 21 response stated the SEC proposal “presents significant compliance and operational challenges for private real estate fund sponsors, with no added benefit to investors and no relation to the intent of Form PF in monitoring systemic risk.” (Roundtable Weekly, March 25)

2.)   Feb. 9 – the SEC also proposed new rules and amendments affecting private fund advisers. (SEC News Release | Proposed Rule | Fact Sheet)

  • The Roundtable plans to submit comments by April 25 to the SEC, which stated it is aiming to increase transparency and efficiency in the $18-trillion private fund adviser marketplace. (Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 11)

3.)   March 9 – the SEC issued another proposal that would require publicly traded companies to disclose a cybersecurity incident within four days of determining a breach is “material,” or important to the average investor. (SEC News Release | Proposed Rule | Fact Sheet)

  • The Roundtable is working on comments due by May 9 regarding the reporting requirement proposal addressing material cybersecurity incidents. (Roundtable Weekly, March 18)

4.)   March 21 – the SEC issued a proposed rule regarding the reporting and disclosure of material corporate financial risks related to climate change. (SEC News Release | Proposed Rule | Fact Sheet, March 22 and Roundtable Weekly with Roundtable Climate Proposal Fact Sheet, March 25)  

  • Stakeholder input on the proposed climate disclosure rule is due to the SEC around May 20. The Roundtable is working on a comprehensive response that will include information from a Roundtable member survey due this Monday, April 11. (see related Roundtable Weekly story on the survey, above)

 Coalition Request 

SEC logo - image

  • This week’s coalition letter to the SEC noted, “The hundreds-upon-hundreds of questions, and numerous catch-all requests for comment, posed in these rulemakings reflect the Commission’s recognition that it needs input from the public to properly craft the proposed rules, yet the Commission is refusing to allow the public the time it needs to answer the Commission’s questions satisfactorily.”
  • The business coalition requested that the SEC should not reflexively assign a 30-day or 60-day comment period to multiple rule proposals. The coalition commented, “Exceedingly short comment periods associated with numerous concurrent potentially inter-connected rule proposals … could result in rules that hurt investors, damage the financial system, and implicate the Commission’s obligations.” (Coalition letter, April 5)

The SEC’s various rulemaking proposals affecting CRE will be discussed during The Roundtable’s April 25-26 Spring Meeting (Roundtable-level members only) in Washington, DC. 

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