Congress Makes Another Run at FIRPTA

WASHINGTON, DC-As head of AFIRE (the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate), Jim Fetgatter hears complaints about the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act All. The. Time. “It is definitely a major impediment to investment,” he tells GlobeSt.com. Little wonder Fetgatter is lauding the latest effort to reform the act, referred to as FIRPTA in real estate circles. “It is long in coming. The original law was written for a different era. Now it is like driving a Model-T in an era of driverless cars.”

On Wednesday Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) introduced The Real Estate Investment and Jobs Act of 2013. The bill has wide support from the industry; the press conferencing announcing its debut was attended by Jeff DeBoer, president and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable and John Zuccotti, co-chairman of Brookfield Properties Corp, among others.