President & CEO Steve Wechsler submitted testimony to the Hawaii House of Representatives Committee on Housing on Feb. 9 to express NAREIT’s opposition to legislation proposing to eliminate the REIT dividends paid deduction (DPD) “temporarily.”
“Enacting this proposal would double tax REITs and signal Hawaii’s discouragement to long-term capital investment,” Wechsler said in written testimony. “This would potentially result in a reduction of millions of dollars of new REIT investment, a shift in property ownership to tax-exempt owners like pensions and endowments, and loss of revenue and significant jobs generated by REITs to the state.”
Last month, companion bills H.B. 1012 and S.B. 1228 were introduced in the Hawaii state legislature to eliminate the DPD for 15 years, except with respect to certain dividends attributable to affordable housing.
NAREIT has opposed similar legislative proposals in past attempts to alter or eliminate the DPD in Hawaii. More information is available at The REIT Way Hawaii.
(Contact: Dara Bernstein at dberntstein@nareit.com)