It\u2019s time<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cIt has been 30 years since Congress last enacted tax reform legislation, and much has changed in that time,\u201d said ICSC president & CEO Thomas McGee. \u201cReforming the code is not only necessary, it is important in shaping America\u2019s economy for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year is ripe for action, noted John Bryant, BOMA\u2019s vice president of advocacy, codes & standards\u2014especially since the incoming administration has taken a strong stance on economic improvement and congressional leaders have signaled it as a priority issue.<\/p>\n
There are many moving parts, like carried interest, 1031 exchanges and the corporate tax rate, according to NAIOP president & CEO Thomas Bisacquino\u2014and if their treatment is modified, NAIOP will work hard to make sure commercial real estate is treated equally and not put at a disadvantage to other forms of investment. He is optimistic there will be a run at reforming the tax code, possibly within the first 100 days, so it is critical that commercial real estate get involved.<\/p>\n
The Real Estate Roundtable president & CEO Jeffrey DeBoer also expects tax reform to be a high priority for Congress, but whether it actually gets to the president\u2019s desk is an open issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe plan to be at the table discussing how various proposals will affect real estate transactions, investment and values,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
E-fairness: The fight continues<\/strong><\/p>\nThe current tax code has a loophole that requires physical retailers to collect sales tax yet not online-only retailers, putting the former at a significant price disadvantage. ICSC spent much of 2016 aggressively advocating for e-fairness legislation to level the tax playing field. Unfortunately, Congress was unable to address it, McGee noted, leading to a new series of legal challenges in South Dakota, Colorado, Alabama and Tennessee aimed at overturning a 1992 court ruling related to physical presence and taxation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Congress doesn\u2019t use their inter-state commerce authority now, the country will face a patchwork of differing state laws or the rulings from various courts,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
ADA: Stopping drive-by lawsuits<\/strong><\/p>\nBOMA and ICSC have been focused on reforming the Americans with Disabilities Act, particularly since many real estate owners and tenants have been hit by \u201cdrive-by\u201d lawsuits that focus on minor infractions or compliance issues. They threaten that plaintiffs will sue\u2014or defendants could just settle.<\/p>\n
\u201c(This costs) business owners thousands of dollars due to the lack of a remedy period in current legislation,\u201d said McGee. \u201cProperty owners should be given the opportunity to improve access for the disabled community in a defined period of time once an alleged ADA violation has been identified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe plan to be at the table discussing how various proposals will affect real estate transactions, investment and values.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Financial reform: Preventing a freeze<\/strong><\/p>\nOne of the top items on the CRE Finance Council\u2019s agenda is Basel IV, particularly the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on U.S. banks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe they overshot the requirements, which will freeze capital more so than it has with Basel III,\u201d said executive director Lisa Pendergast. \u201cThe particular capital and liquidity concerns for CMBS and the portfolio lending side of institutions\u2014including the impact of Basel III\u2019s liquidity coverage ratio and proposed new capital requirements under Basel IV\u2014hit a tipping point in 2016. This caused us to step in and issue a letter to the key U.S. agencies\u2014including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) and the OCC (Options Clearing Corp.)\u2014in hopes of getting some engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Dodd-Frank\u00a0Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CRE Finance Council is polling its membership to determine which way they\u2019d like to move in regard to risk-retention rules.<\/p>\n
The Real Estate Roundtable will also spend time with the banking committees and federal regulators to discuss financial institutional regulations that are in need of reform, including\u00a0Dodd-Frank\u00a0and various securitization and banking issues.<\/p>\n
Infrastructure & real estate investment: Build it up<\/strong><\/p>\nInfrastructure investment should be a critical item for lawmakers, executives contend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been enough investment, and strong infrastructure is critical for the success of our industry and the entire nation,\u201d said Bisacquino.<\/p>\n
Trump has been very interested in pursuing that investment, pointed out Taryn Holowka, USGBC senior vice president of\u00a0marketing, communications & advocacy. \u201c(However), it will take significant work for the new administration, House and Senate to agree on how such investment is financed and the means for leveraging public and private funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other side of the investment coin, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program received another short-term extension until April 28, 2017, \u201cbut it needs serious reform in regards to integrity and transparency with investors and projects,\u201d cautioned DeBoer. \u201cThe Real Estate Roundtable is in favor of a long-term extension and believes that a major, comprehensive reform will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another focus for the Roundtable is gaining a clearer definition of foreign pension plans and how they can invest in the U.S. through the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as there are still technical issues that need clarification.<\/p>\n
Energy efficiency: Get greener<\/strong><\/p>\nEnergy issues will continue to be a high priority for the USGBC, NAIOP and BOMA.<\/p>\n
BOMA will be looking at policies as they relate to energy efficiency, \u201coften the No. 1 controllable operations cost for buildings,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cBy promoting better efficiency targets and understanding upfront costs and ROI, building owners and operators should be able to save more money.\u201d<\/p>\n
The USGBC will focus on support for key federal activities that encourage robust private-sector investment in high-performing buildings, Holowka said. These include both financial services\u2014such as tax incentives for energy-efficiency investment in buildings\u2014and programs such as the
\nEnergy Star Portfolio Manager.<\/p>\n
DeBoer added that the Tenant Star program needs a lot of regulatory classifications to make it more helpful to tenants, so the Roundtable will spend time on that issue.<\/p>\n
The Republican majority: What it means for real estate<\/strong><\/p>\nWhile it\u2019s early to tell what the GOP majority means for the industry, the executives exercised cautious optimism. They noted Trump\u2019s business background may lead to policies that reduce regulatory burdens, grow the economy, create jobs and stimulate consumer spending. But while it is easier to move an agenda when one political party rules, there needs to be some sort of compromise between Republicans and Democrats, they warn\u2014lest we fall back into a divisive political climate where nothing gets done.<\/p>\n
Originally appearing in the\u00a0CPE-MHN Guide to 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real Estate Organizations Share Their Agendas for 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":938,"featured_media":1004164310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1521,21825,22251,21783,21742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004164295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","category-finance","category-in-focus","category-investment","category-latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Real Estate Organizations Share Their Agendas for 2017\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-17T11:45:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-07T13:42:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Marsh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/\",\"name\":\"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-17T11:45:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-07T13:42:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/9224ecf12b6f945b5362c322e5dcc969\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Commercial Property Executive\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/9224ecf12b6f945b5362c322e5dcc969\",\"name\":\"Amanda Marsh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4166618055085173d3224a29e24eca84e9711c6c3d543e9378fa614c22986b7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4166618055085173d3224a29e24eca84e9711c6c3d543e9378fa614c22986b7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amanda Marsh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/amandamarsh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform - Commercial Property Executive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform","og_description":"Real Estate Organizations Share Their Agendas for 2017","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/","og_site_name":"Commercial Property Executive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive","article_published_time":"2017-01-17T11:45:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-07T13:42:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amanda Marsh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cpexecutive","twitter_site":"@cpexecutive","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/","name":"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform - Commercial Property Executive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg","datePublished":"2017-01-17T11:45:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-07T13:42:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/9224ecf12b6f945b5362c322e5dcc969"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg","width":2000,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/legislative-landscape-seeking-reform\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Legislative Landscape: Seeking Reform"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/","name":"Commercial Property Executive","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/9224ecf12b6f945b5362c322e5dcc969","name":"Amanda Marsh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4166618055085173d3224a29e24eca84e9711c6c3d543e9378fa614c22986b7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4166618055085173d3224a29e24eca84e9711c6c3d543e9378fa614c22986b7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amanda Marsh"},"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/amandamarsh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004164295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/938"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004164295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004164295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004617021,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004164295\/revisions\/1004617021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004164310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004164295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004164295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004164295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/internal.multihousingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/01\/iStock-504909570.jpg\")
<\/a>The industry has entered 2017 in a political climate like no other. What does it mean for commercial real estate? Six organizations\u2014the Real Estate Roundtable, the International Council of Shopping Centers, Building Owners and Managers Association International, NAIOP, the CRE Finance Council and the U.S. Green Building Council\u2014share their legislative hopes and concerns for the coming year.<\/p>\n