Mark Roberson, tax controller – REIT tax compliance at Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), participated in a video interview at REITwise 2018, Nareit’s Law, Accounting & Finance Conference in Hollywood, Florida.
Roberson moderated a REITwise panel on REITs investing outside the United States. He noted that REITs have become much more diligent in their overseas investments and are now paying closer attention to the specific location of a property, rather than a broader focus on the country itself.
Roberson also noted that recent tax reform legislation will impact how REITs structure their investments abroad. Companies investing outside the U.S. will need a physical presence and “boots on the ground” in those countries, he explained.
Meanwhile, Roberson noted that investing abroad “takes a disproportionate amount of time in relationship to the assets acquired.”