Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent Call-for-Action on mortgage debt relief.
The United States Senate has adjourned sine die, marking the formal end of the 113th Congress meaning any legislation not enacted must be reintroduced in the 114th Congress which will begin on January 6, 2015. I have good news…Congress passed the “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” as part of a larger package and it is now headed to the President’s desk for signature into law.
In addition to the mortgage forgiveness provisions that will help distressed homeowners there are also provisions affecting commercial property investors who made transactions during 2014. The legislation includes one-year extensions of the 15-year depreciation schedule for leasehold improvements and the deduction for improvements to energy efficient commercial buildings.
Unfortunately, the end of the “Lame Duck” session had mixed results for REALTORS®. Shockingly, the United States Senate failed to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). This alarming failure to act before adjournment could stall commercial real estate development around the country. The Senate missed an opportunity to approve a six year reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act that passed the U.S House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill died when Senators were unable to reach a unanimous consent agreement which would have allowed the bill to proceed.
Despite this temporary set-back, REALTORS® will work closely with Congress in 2015 to swiftly reenact TRIA and provide much needed certainty to the commercial market.
Happy Holidays,
John
CEO
Missouri REALTORS