Laws & Taxes

A significant piece of tax legislation is now on its way to the President’s desk, and the bill includes the extension of a number of expired tax provisions important to supporting homeowners and real estate investment.

Congress delivered an early gift of energy efficiency tax incentives to help American consumers and businesses invest in products and technologies that will return energy and dollar savings.  The omnibus appropriations and tax extenders bill approved by Congress reinstates and extends until 2016 a tax incentive of up to $500 for families that purchase qualifying energy efficiency products; provides home builders and/or manufacturers up to $2,000 for building energy efficient homes

Thomas J. Bisacquino, President and CEO of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, issued the following statement on the House of Representative’s passage of Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015

Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo., issued the following statement on the ruling by the Government Accountability Office that found the Obama administration broke the law when it used social media to urge the general public to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule defining “waters of the United States.”

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, joined by Commissioner James S. Rubin of  New York State Homes & Community Renewal (“DHCR”)  and Commissioner Vicki Been of the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”),  announced today that 128 landlords receiving lucrative tax benefits under Section 421-a of the New York Real Property Tax Law are now registering 1,823 market-rate apartments across New York City as rent-stabilized.

Six developers across the state were recently awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), a key federal funding source for creating and preserving affordable housing. The tax credits will provide almost $31 million in upfront cash equity to be used for building 170 affordable apartments and preserving 100 more.

Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) introduced legislation today that would ensure accountability in public housing by cracking down on the number of over-income families who live in taxpayer-subsidized public housing.

Five affordable housing projects for homeless veterans, seniors, and families will share nearly $2.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) allocated by MaineHousing through a competitive selection process.

Five affordable housing projects for homeless veterans, seniors, and families will share nearly $2.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) allocated by MaineHousing through a competitive selection process.

U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), today praised passage of S. 611, the “Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Act,” by the House of Representatives. The bill –would help small and rural communities comply with “safe drinking water” regulations. Rep. Harper and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) introduced companion legislation to Senator Roger Wicker’s S. 611 earlier this year

Pending home sales were mostly unchanged in October, but shifted marginally higher after two straight months of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Gains in the Northeast and West were offset by declines in the Midwest and South.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced today it will award $25.8 million federal housing tax credits to construct or rehabilitate 33 affordable rental housing properties located throughout the state. The developments include affordable housing for working families, housing for Georgia seniors and housing for persons with disabilities, and were selected from 75 applications in the annual competition

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Government's development finance institution, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, last week signed financing agreements for the 53 megawatt Cap des Biches power plant with project developer ContourGlobal, the Government of Senegal, and Senegal’s national electricity utility to help address growing demand for electricity in the country

ayor Domenic J. Sarno announced today his administration’s recommendation for Fiscal Year 2016 property tax rates. The proposed tax rates are $19.66 per thousand dollars of value for residential property and $38.60 per thousand for commercial, industrial, and personal property. “I am pleased that we are able to reduce both tax rates and continue to promote stable neighborhoods with improving home values as well as a strong economic policy of retaining and expanding jobs.”

Many Arlington County homeowners have received correspondence, signed by Jud Allen of Express Homebuyers, falsely claiming that these owners owe real estate taxes and that the County may take their homes away from them due to delinquent taxes, Arlington County Treasurer Carla de la Pava said.

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta today announced the award of $31.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), which will generate $319 million in investment capital to build more than 1,700 rental units across New Jersey

Best Lawyers®, the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession, recently named Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart (HFS) partner Kelly May the Best Lawyers' 2016 Birmingham Litigation – Real Estate "Lawyer of the Year".

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Veterans Homebuyer Accessibility Act, which would provide an $8000 refundable tax credit for specially adaptive housing modifications, and an $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit for all eligible veterans. The bipartisan legislation — introduced in the House by Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Paul Cook (R-CA) — addresses the delay in disability benefits many veterans are confronted with upon returning to civilian life. The bill would ameliorate the process of purchasing a home and modifying it to accommodate for disabilities

Having emerged last year from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, Detroit is still hindered in its recovery by structural flaws in its property tax system, according to a new report published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Governor Bruce Rauner announced today he has appointed an Inspector General of the Illinois Tollway, and made judicial appointments to the Illinois Court of Claims and the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board