As a result of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH) passed by Congress and signed into law in December, 2015 effective on the 16th of February, 2016 changes to the FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) go into effect. The withholding tax on foreign sellers will increase from 10% to 15%

Earlier this fall, the National Park Service celebrated the 35th anniversary of the popular Federal Preservation Tax Incentives Program, which has helped in the preservation of historic structures across the U.S. and particularly in Ohio with its wealth of historic buildings. Because of the program’s numerous possible benefits and its important role in fueling

Did you turn 65 (or older) during 2013?  Happy Birthday!  Have an AGI over $30,000?  

If yes, congratulations, you are among the lucky few in Ohio who may still qualify for the Homestead Exemption!  

Under the recently enacted H.B. 59 which established Ohio’s budget for 2014, there are numerous changes coming that will

Following the publicized overhaul of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision, property owners and practitioners alike should be aware of the  Board’s recent changes in procedures regarding hearing notices to Complainants, in addition to the implementation of the Board’s updated Rules of Valuation Procedure (which quietly went into effect  December 2011). 

 When a property owner

Earlier this month, the US Congress voted to repeal certain new 1099 reporting requirements that had many smaller landlords in this country crying foul. In essence, expanded 1099 reporting requirements were to take place under the health care reform laws in an effort to raise underreported income. The net effect would have been to

Landlord’s have gone to fixed CAM to reduce administrative expenses and disputes with their tenants. The government could accomplish the same by going to a flat tax – no need for complicated tax regulations that create unintended consequences; no need for intrusive audits where the government is at odds with its constituents; in fact maybe

The Ohio Housing Council (the "Council") recently issued the following alert: "Sales tax must be listed separately on invoices or the buyer may be charged by the State of Ohio for the tax."  According to the Council, the State of Ohio has been assessing sales tax and penalties to contractors and property management companies for tax services they purchased when the invoice did not break out sales tax as a separate line item.  Thus, per the Council, invoices for taxable services, such as landscaping or painting, must contain a separate sales tax line item instead of the simple phrase "sales tax included."  The Council advises contractors and property managers to review all invoices to make certain that property tax is listed separately.Continue Reading Ohio Housing Council Issues Alert That Sales Tax Must Be Listed Separately on Invoices for Taxable Services

Remember Enron and off-balance-sheet accounting scandals? The efforts to clean up these accounting practices are still in the works and are about to hit the world of commercial real estate—arguably at the worst possible time. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) (which is endowed with the power to decide U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are hoping to enact a new lease accounting standard by 2013. The Securities and Exchange Commission in a 2005 report to Congress estimated that the current lease accounting standards which went into effect in 1976 allow tenants to keep about $1.25 trillion in future liabilities off-balance-sheet.   

Currently, a lease may be shown on a tenant’s balance sheet as either a capital lease which is treated on the balance sheet much like a finance transaction or as an operating lease which is mostly off-balance sheet. The FASB and IASB believe that investors are not getting a full picture of a tenant’s obligations when the lease is treated as an operating lease because the lease payments are recognized as an expense when they are incurred or paid rather than all of the rental payments for the term appearing as a liability on the balance sheet. 

 

 Continue Reading ELIMINATING OFF-BALANCE-SHEET ACCOUNTING OF LEASES