Tag: Ron Wyden

Bipartisan Legislation to Improve REITs’ Flexibility and Competitiveness Gains Traction in the House

Posted on by Abigail Grenadier

A bill to increase the limit on the amount of assets a REIT can own through a fully taxable subsidiary is gaining momentum in the House. The bipartisan measure has picked up 18 additional cosponsors from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee since its introduction in late August by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Brian Higgins (D-NY). (Legislative text of H.R. 5275)

Taxable REIT Subsidiaries

  • In 1999, Congress authorized REITs to create taxable subsidiaries (C corporations) that can engage in activities not otherwise allowed at the REIT level. Common activities undertaken by taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs) include services such as landscaping, cleaning, concierge, childcare, and catering, among others. As professional real estate management evolved, the change was necessary to ensure REITs could compete with other full-service real estate businesses.
  • H.R. 5275 would raise the limit on a REIT’s assets attributable to its taxable subsidiary from 20 to 25 percent. The legislation would not change the longstanding REIT income rules requiring that at least 75 percent of the REIT’s total income come from sources like real property rents and interest from real estate mortgages. Similarly, the legislation would not change the REIT asset test, which requires that at least 75 percent of the value of the REIT’s assets consist of real estate, cash, cash items, and government securities.
  • The Roundtable supports the legislation to raise the TRS limitation. The issue is also a tax priority for Nareit, which is leading the outreach effort on Capitol Hill. The current 20 percent limit has created particular challenges for REITs seeking to expand and acquire assets outside the United States, such as digital infrastructure. Raising the threshold to 25 percent would restore the limit to its prior level and allow U.S.-based businesses to continue growing in competitive foreign markets.

The Roundtable and its Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) will continue working closely with Nareit and other industry partners in support of H.R. 5275 as deliberations continue on tax legislation.

#  #  #

Senate, House Bills Introduced to Spur Workforce Housing Development

Posted on by Abigail Grenadier

Bills introduced yesterday in the Senate and House would create a new tax incentive aimed at increasing the supply of moderate-income rental housing. The legislation seeks to expand the construction and rehabilitation of housing for middle-class families and young people starting their careers, while enabling workers to live in communities where they are employed. (Senate Finance Committee news release and bill summary, Dec. 7)

Workforce Housing Tax Credit

  • Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, (D-OR) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AL), along with Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Mike Carey (R-OH), introduced the bipartisan Workforce Housing Tax Credit (WHTC) Act to build on the successful Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) by enabling state housing agencies to issue tax credits to developers, which would subsequently be sold to investors. (1-page Senate Finance committee summary and WHTC bill text)
  • WHTC credits could be used to build affordable housing for tenants between 60% and 100% of area median income, or transferred to LIHTC for tenants generally below 60% of area median income. (Congressional Research Service summary of the LIHTC, April 26)
  • State housing finance agencies could allocate WHTC credits to developers through a competitive process. The tax credits could also be provided to developers with a 15-year compliance period and 30-year extended commitment.  (Committee summary)

Roundtable Support

  • The Roundtable strongly supports the WHTC. Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer stated, “Tax policy should support and encourage private sector investment that boosts the supply of affordable and workforce housing. The Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act would build on time-tested tax incentives like the low-income housing tax credit and further facilitate the conversion of underutilized, existing buildings to housing. We welcome this positive step forward for our nation’s housing supply.”

The Roundtable’s Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) has formed an Affordable Housing Working Group, which is working with the Research Committee to develop proposals on expanding the nation’s housing infrastructure.

#  #  #

Senate Democrats Propose Tax Penalties on Institutional Owners of Single-Family Rental Homes

Posted on by Trey Jackson
SFR portfolio

A group of eight Democratic Senators introduced legislation on July 11 that would prohibit for-profit owners of 50 or more single-family rental homes from taking depreciation or business interest expense deductions on their properties. 

“Short-Sighted Proposal”

  • Senate Banking Committee Chairman Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “big investors funded by Wall Street buy up homes that could have gone to first-time homebuyers, then jack up rent, neglect repairs, and threaten families with eviction.” Similar concerns were expressed by several cosponsors: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).  (Senate Banking press release, July 11)

  • Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, below, said, “Improving and expanding housing affordability is a goal we all share, and any illegal or unjust actions by landlords should not be tolerated. However, this legislation is a short-sighted proposal that will drive up housing costs for working Americans, reduce property values for existing homeowners, and further discourage new home construction.”
Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer
  • “The bill deflects attention from the real, underlying causes contributing to high housing costs: inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain challenges; rising interest rates and tight credit conditions; NIMBY’ism, discriminatory zoning rules, and restrictive land-use policies; and insufficient investment in the low-income housing credit, to name just a few. Many of these factors are deep, structural challenges. Institutional investors are a convenient scapegoat and a distraction from the real work that must be done to address housing affordability,” DeBoer added.

  • By denying basic business expense deductions, the Stop Predatory Investing Act would distort housing markets and create additional, restrictive policies that exacerbate the current supply/demand imbalance.

  • Depreciation ensures that the cost of a capital investment is reflected in the measurement of income and recovered, for tax purposes, over the economic life of the investment. Depreciation deductions compensate property owners for the normal wear and tear that reduces the value of a structure over time. Interest expense deductions ensure that taxable income properly takes into account the cost of borrowing to invest in a trade or business.

  • Depreciation and interest expense deductions are not “tax breaks” as suggested by the bill’s sponsors. (Senate Banking one-page summary)

House Tax Legislation

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA)
  • Tax legislation advanced by the House Ways and Means Committee in June is unlikely to receive a vote before Congress starts its August recess.

  • House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), above, noted this week that the appropriations bills and reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed today in the House, are the chamber’s current priorities. “Getting the NDAA done and getting the appropriations bills are what are front and center right now. Then, we’ll really look forward to getting that economic agenda moving forward,” Scalise said. (Bloomberg Law, July 12)

  • Republican Ways and Means Committee members last month approved their proposed tax legislative package along party lines, including measures on business interest deductibility, bonus depreciation, and opportunity zones. (Tax Notes, June 14 | Ways and Means Committee, June 13 and Roundtable Weekly, June 9)

Scalise added that Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) is still “working with other members on remaining issues with that bill.” (Bloomberg Law, July 12)

#  #  #

Top Senate Democratic Tax-Writer Proposes New Capital Gains Regime, Ending Preferred Rate

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

On Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) presented and released a detailed white paper outlining his plan to reform the taxation of capital gains.  (News Conference Video, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Sept. 12)   

  • Entitled “Treat Wealth Like Wages,” the proposal is billed by the top Democratic tax-writer in the Senate as “a plan to fix our broken tax code, ensure the wealthy pay their fair share, and protect Social Security.”  Sen. Wyden’s proposal would end the preferred tax rate for capital gains and impose annual mark-to-market taxation of capital assets for taxpayers above certain income thresholds.
  • Both proposals represent dramatic departures from existing tax law.  They are direct challenges to two fundamental principles that support capital formation, entrepreneurship, and long-term investment: (1) tax on capital gain should be deferred until it is realized, and (2) capital gain should be subject to a reduced tax rate.
  • The mark-to-market rules, which Sen. Wyden refers to as “anti-deferral accounting rules, would apply to taxpayers averaging $1 million in income or $10 million in assets over the last 3 years.  “Tradable” assets such as stocks and bonds would be subject to annual taxation of unrealized gains. Taxpayers could take a deduction for unrealized losses.
  • While “non-tradable” assets like real estate would not be subject to mark-to-market on an annual basis, they would be subject to an additional layer of tax – a “look-back charge” – for the theoretical benefit of the tax deferral when the asset is sold, or certain other revaluation events occur.  This look-back charge would be in addition to the capital gains tax, which would be set at the top ordinary income tax rate. 
  • The structure of the look-back charge is undefined.  Sen. Wyden’s paper describes a few options:  (1) an interest charge on deferred tax; (2) a yield-based tax designed to eliminate the benefits of deferral; or (3) a surtax based on an asset’s holding period.  The look-back charge would also be imposed at death, even if the asset is not sold (the basis of the asset would step up at death).
  • Special rules would apply for pass-through entities.  For example, the Wyden proposal would require a partnership to calculate the lookback charge when real estate is contributed to or distributed from the partnership – and report each partner’s share.
  • Built-in gain on existing assets would be subject to the tax, paid over an unspecified transition period.  The estimated $1.5 – $2 trillion of revenue raised from the proposal would be dedicated towards shoring up the long-term solvency of Social Security.  (CNBC, Sept. 12)

  • “Congress should strengthen tax rules that promote capital formation, not weaken them, which is what Sen. Wyden’s proposal would do,” said Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer.  He added, “Rewarding risk-taking, long-term investment, and entrepreneurship is at the heart of the American economic model. By eliminating any tax incentive to pursue projects that have a pay-off that is far in the future, the proposal would discourage businesses and individuals from undertaking the long-term, capital-intensive investments that drive productivity and economic growth by deepening and enriching our Nation’s capital stock, including its commercial real estate.”   

    Sen. Wyden invited comments about the proposal on a wide variety of issues, such as how to calculate the look-back charge and whether debt should reduce the value of property when measuring a taxpayer’s aggregate assets.   The Roundtable’s Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) plans to review the proposal in detail and submit comments.  

    #  #  #