Commercial real estate executives told to keep tabs on upcoming tax reform efforts
The coming year for commercial real estate executives will be filled with uncertainty because of a stated push for tax reform by President-elect Donald Trump.
That was a part of the message given Friday to about 400 commercial real estate experts at a luncheon in Harbor East by Ashley Powell, a leasing executive from San Francisco who is national president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).
“The top three things to watch after this historic election are tax reform, infrastructure (spending) and financial reform,” Powell told the group from NAIOP Maryland gathered at the Four Seasons to close the year with its annual holiday luncheon.
Powell urged the statewide NAIOP members to keep a keen eye on tax reform efforts, a top priority cited by the incoming Trump administration, and the impact of such efforts on existing federal tax benefits for investors and developers.
“The last tax reform was in 1986,” he said. “And we will be watching it and ready. We need to hit it and hit it hard,” with lobbying and educational campaigns.
Plans to spend up to $1 trillion on infrastructure repairs and replacements across the U.S. are also a pressing issue, Powell told the group and it needs “to make sure that this industry does not foot the bill for those changes.”
Powell cited NAIOP’s push for high school and college commercial real estate introductory academic programs as a success in 2016 as well as a series of five forums held this year to help developing leaders already in the field sharpen their skills.
