NAR outlines federal legislative priorities

During the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) convention earlier this month, the NAR government affairs department highlighted some of its legislative priorities for the remainder of the year. They provided valuable insight and a few requests, which I wanted to share with you.

Here are several of the federal legislative priorities:

• Mortgage Debt Cancellation Tax Relief – This tax extender bill would reinstate more than 50 tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013. Among the real estate provisions included in the “extenders” package are tax relief for mortgage debt forgiveness, 15-year cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements, election to expense certain qualified real property and the deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. The bill is stalled in the Senate. We’ll likely see another legislative vehicle be the driver that some or all of the tax extenders are tacked onto. NAR is hoping the bill will move before the end of 2014. NAR has issued a call for action on this issue. If you have not already responded to this call to action, please do so today.
• Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) – American businesses continue to rely upon the availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance. The federal backstop program is a critical component of the private/public partnership created to protect the nation’s business sector by ensuring that adequate insurance coverage is available to effectively manage economic risks. This has been a particular concern for those in commercial real estate who need to have terrorism coverage in place in order to secure financing.
• Personal/Corporate Tax Reform – NAR expects to engage in tax reform talks early with Congress in the next session. The U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world and many companies are avoiding having their headquarters in the U.S. due to that. It appears members of Congress are looking for ways to compromise on this issue. The danger, however, is that the Mortgage Interest Deduction of the 1031 Like-Kind Exchange would be included in the reform and NAR will be working to avoid those. NAR believes the 1031 exchange is vulnerable because many don’t understand it, however, it is extremely important for commercial Realtors®.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – NAR continues to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which has banned the use of drones for commercial purposes. NAR’s research shows there is pent-up demand by Realtors® to use drones for photos and videos of properties.

As always, it’s important to respond as quickly as possible when NAR (or PAR or your local association) issues a Call for Action. Please take the time to make your voice heard on issues that affect our industry.