Closing Out A Banner Year For Industry Legislation
Thanks to BOMA International’s advocacy efforts, the end of 2019 saw the significant advancement of priority legislative items, including the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), qualified improvement property (QIP) and the Energy-Efficient Tax Deduction for Commercial Buildings, commonly referred to as 179D. Despite having a Congress known for delaying even the most bipartisan-friendly bills, 2019 shaped up to be a banner year for BOMA’s advocacy goals.
RENEWING TERRORISM RISK INSURANCE
BOMA, working in concert with the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT), helped fast track legislation to extend TRIA—a program that creates a federal backstop for insurance claims related to acts of terrorism. Without congressional action, the program would expire at the end of 2020.
ADDRESSING QIP
While TRIA moved through the machinery of Capitol Hill faster than expected, QIP—formerly referred to as leasehold depreciation—is a victory from the trenches. The issue arose in 2017, when Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included specific provisions culminating in what was then considered the largest tax win for commercial real estate in decades.
EXTENDING 179D
Energy efficiency legislation also garnered considerable attention from Congress in 2019. The only tax incentive for commercial buildings to replace equipment with more energy-efficient products, 179D had expired at the beginning of 2017.
After an ambitious year with many legislative goals, BOMA’s advocacy efforts bore fruit in 2019. As we pause to reflect on another successful year, BOMA’s advocacy team is poised to hit the ground running in 2020 on even more industry-related issues, such as fire sprinkler incentives and flood insurance reform, while continuing efforts to fix QIP and make 179D available to more buildings and a permanent part of the tax code.