Paradigm Tax Group

Tax-Free Zones Proposed by New York Governor

tcaraffa — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:03:35 +0000

In an effort to create jobs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has unveiled plans for a series of tax-free zones on the state’s public university campuses. According to TimesUnion.com, the tax-free zones, available to new businesses as well as to businesses that relocate from outside the state, and those that create net new jobs, would have no business or corporate tax, no sales tax, no property tax, no franchise fee and no income tax for the owner of the company or its employees.

The plan calls for 200,000 available square feet on each public school campus, with an additional 3 million square feet available on private school campuses, totaling about 120 million square feet in all. Cuomo’s plan also builds upon a previously announced plan to set up smaller tax-free zones at a select number of campuses around the state, which were more limited in scope and set up by local economic development councils.

To read the full article from TimesUnion.com, click here.

Retail Development Back on the Horizon

tcaraffa — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:38:47 +0000

Rumblings coming out of ICSC’s RECon event in Las Vegas, in which Paradigm Tax Group is in attendance, is that new retail development is no longer a pipe-dream, but a tangible possibility as industry players being drawing up new projects. According to the National Real Estate Investor, some companies, primarily publicly-traded REITs, might already be close to putting shovels in the ground as they sign up expanding retailers to go into their new centers.

The future is beginning to look promising enough for even smaller developers to begin thinking about new projects. As retailers continue to do better, the next two or three years could see enough demand from anchor tenants that it will make sense to begin to rationally develop again.

To read the full article from the National Real Estate Investor, click here.

Minnesota Tax Bill Includes Cap on Property Tax Hikes

tcaraffa — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:42:02 +0000

Several cities and counties in Minnesota will soon see a big increase in their state aid, and in return, they will be required to tamp down property taxes. A wide-reaching tax bill finalized over the weekend includes a one-year limit on local tax levies and is designed to keep rates from rising at a rapid pace for 2014 property taxes.

According to SFGate.com, the cap is somewhat complicated because it bases the limit on the amount of new aid a local government gets. Except in rare cases, new local levies will be held to three percent or less, while many cities will have to freeze tax rates entirely. To compensate for the lost property tax revenue, as part of the bill, cities and counties won’t have to pay sales taxes on purchases for the first time in decades.

Led by Multi-Family, CRE Saw More Deals than Expected in Q1

tcaraffa — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:26:20 +0000

Commercial real estate performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2013, with excess of $63 billion in transactions taking place nationwide. According to GlobeSt.com, due to anticipated tax increases, there was an eagerness on behalf of sellers to get deals closed at the end of last year, so a lot of volume activity that had been expected for January was pulled to December. This led to the low expectations for the first quarter, but as it turns out, transaction activity remained strong.

To go along with the impressive numbers thus far, experts predict an even stronger second half of 2013. This charge will continue to be led by multi-family, as the sector remains red hot by accounting for $35 billion of the total first quarter sales. Several large multi-family portfolio sales occurred in February, and shallow development in years past should keep the market tight with mid-to-low vacancy rates across core markets.

To read the full article from GlobeSt.com, click here.

Regions Reliant on Government Spending Take Hits

tcaraffa — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:22:21 +0000

Sequestration and its $85 billion in federal budget cuts planned for this year will bring significant challenges on the U.S. economy and the commercial real estate recovery. According to the National Real Estate Investor, the forced reductions that began March 1st will have real consequences for the U.S. economy, including eliminated and reduced government contracts, reduced private and public sector jobs and furloughed workers.

The region that will take the biggest hit is obviously the nation’s capital and surrounding states. The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, all of which report 19.8% of economic activity tied to federal spending mainly due to a high concentration of government agencies and federal contractors, are all prime targets for cuts. Hawaii (15.8% federal spending), Alaska (13.3% federal spending) and Kentucky (9.9% federal spending) are also states that will experience difficult times this year.

To read the full article from the National Real Estate Investor, click here.

Overbuilding and Value the Top Concerns in Student Housing

tcaraffa — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:16:00 +0000

The reoccurring themes at the RealShare Student Housing conference this week in Irving, Texas were concerns about overbuilding and the search for perceived value in the segment. According to GlobeSt.com, panelists at the event were in agreement that students and parents alike are continuing to seek out the best value. This means the properties with higher rents are not going to be as popular as they once were, as the market is wary of adding additional costs on top of tuition.

In terms of overbuilding, even though the sector’s performance remains strong, too much product is being built to go along with the demand at the moment. Presently, while things may seem alright, oversupply isn’t something that’s incremental – rather, it seems to all come online at once. This has led the panelists to predict some future pain in that aspect.

To read the full article from GlobeSt.com, click here.

Bill Would Tighten Tax Incentives on Pollution in Florida

tcaraffa — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:12:06 +0000

The Florida Legislature has approved a bill that would cause businesses to no longer receive state tax breaks because of perceived pollution on their properties. According to the Orlando Sentinel, in 2011 and part of 2012, Florida companies received as much as $11 million in Brownfield economic-development tax breaks, even though many of which were building on ground that does not appear to be contaminated. These companies were able to get breaks anyways because the law is currently written in a way that only requires the perception of contamination, not actual proof.

The bill would change the requirements for the incentive to be only for companies who are on or next to property where a pollution-cleanup agreement with the government is in place. On top of that, it would require state economists to conduct more rigorous studies to see what benefits business tax incentives create.

To read the full article from the Orlando Sentinel, click here.

Providence Commercial Tax Rates Highest in the U.S.

tcaraffa — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:37:53 +0000

Providence, Rhode Island property owners paid the highest commercial property tax rates in any of the nation’s 53 biggest cities in 2011. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Taxpayers Association, cash-strapped Providence slapped a tax bill of $4,975 on commercial property worth $100,000 – $69 more than the second-ranked Des Moines and $75 more than third-ranked Detroit.

Providence Mayor, Angel Taveras, has proposed a seven-year freezing of the commercial tax rates, but City Council members are skeptical that the proposal may raise commercial taxes even higher. In addition to the commercial rates, Providence ranked 11th-highest for homestead property taxes, and 9th and 10th-highest for industrial property taxes on machinery, equipment, inventories and fixtures.

To read the full article from WPRI.com, click here.

Tucson All-In on Downtown Business Incentives

tcaraffa — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:08:21 +0000

Tucson, Arizona City Council has voted in favor of an incentive that when finished will waive property taxes for a multi-million dollar downtown development. According to Inside Tucson Business, the deal, a Government Property Lease Excise Tax Incentive, would exempt the developer of the 196-unit downtown student housing development The Cadence from paying property taxes for eight years. Costs of the development are estimated to be around $34 million.

The backbone of the agreement will give the city ownership of the properties during the eight years in which it will be exempt from property taxes. The ownership would be strictly for tax purposes, where the management and care of the property would still be the responsibility of the developer. The short-term benefits for the city should come in the form of new jobs and a spike in sales tax due to retail activity, and the long term should bring increased value in the properties that would provide greater property tax revenue in the future.

To read the full article from Inside Tucson Business, click here.

Hotel Industry Expected to Heat Up over the Summer

tcaraffa — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:36:30 +0000

Hotels are reporting a significant year-over-year increase in advanced bookings for the summer months. According to HotelNewsNow.com, not only is demand up, but most hoteliers say pricing power has returned and they are finally able to push rates without experiencing consequential declines in occupancy. Over June, July, and August, occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available room are all expected to be up from their 2012 levels.

Consumer confidence and business confidence are coming back strong and significantly helping out with the new found demand for occupancy. In addition, the Dow Jones closed at above 15,000 for the first time, a factor that will lead more businesses to feel comfortable about sending their sales force on the road. Increased faith in the economy is also leading to a lengthening of stays, as vacationers and retirees are feeling more comfortable about their savings.

To read the full article from HotelNewsNow.com, click here.