Podcast: How Will the Proposed Infrastructure Bill Impact Real Estate?

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Key Points: 

• The proposed infrastructure bill outlines critical investments to rebuild America.
• Beyond traditional infrastructure, the bill includes broadband and affordable housing.
• Increasing the corporate tax rate is the primary payment source.

The Biden administration recently submitted a proposed bill, The American Jobs Plan, to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and create millions of new jobs.

Hosts Howard Altshuler, Partner-in-Charge, Real Estate Services for Weaver, and Rob Nowak, Partner, Tax Services for Weaver, discussed how its objectives might impact real estate and construction.

“The proposed bill does include roads, bridges, ports, airports, electric vehicles, broadband, better wages and retraining. The emphasis on affordable housing is important to real estate. It’s an issue in the country, and there is a plan to retrofit homes into energy-efficient, affordable housing units,” Altshuler said.

There is also language regarding commercial buildings. Nowak noted. “On the commercial side, there are parts about preparing for the next pandemic and ensuring buildings have certain systems to protect tenants.”

What exactly that looks like remains unknown, but Altshuler speculated that “it could be about alternative energy sources, broadband and improving water quality by replacing lead pipes.”

Nowak found the lack of availability of broadband to be astounding for the most developed country. Altshuler shared that there is a commitment to redevelop old factories and invest in environmental remediation to do so.

All these endeavors are essential to the country’s future, but there is the question of how to pay for it.

“It includes increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, but not back up to 35%. If this changes, will there be an adjustment to the pass-through deduction? There are other tax revenue drivers, as well, like changing inversion strategies,” Nowak explained.

Should the ambitious plan pass, Nowak said “real estate and construction will lead the way on infrastructure.”

Subscribe to the Beyond the Numbers podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for the next episode of this series.

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