BOCA RATON-With foreign investment in United States real estate at record highs, locally-based attorney Richard Lehman has launched a web site that provides investors with tax information in their native languages. The website, www.UnitedStatesTaxation.com, contains information about US tax laws in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese and Arabic.

"One of the reasons foreigners can get in trouble is the misperceptions they may have about real estate and taxes," he tells GlobeSt.com. "It is critical that, when a foreigner comes here, they have the right team if they are investing in real estate." And the right information at hand. That, says Lehman, is where the website comes into play.

The site is intended to provide foreign investors, and the US professionals that work with them, information that will assist them with their investment decisions. Among the features of the website is information about US taxation of foreign corporations and nonresident alien rules, tax planning before immigrating to the U.S. as well as tax planning for the foreign investor. "If nothing else, the website will provide foreign investors with the sense that taxes are a professional issue in the United States that must be handled properly," Lehman tells GlobeSt.com.

Lehman says the website capitalizes on the current popularity of the US as an investment target. He attributes this popularity to the relatively weak dollar, our favorable tax laws and the safety of our economic and political base. Also, there are an increasing number of global multi-millionaires who need safe investments to diversify and protect their holdings. "With right planning, the US can be a tax haven for foreign investors," he says.

Lehman recently presented a seminar on the subject to the Palm Beach Board of Realtors at the World Trade Center in West Palm Beach. He warned brokers that, although there is tremendous interest among foreign investors, brokers must be careful when dealing with foreign investors as clients.