U.S. real estate is enormously attractive to many foreign investors, who are thus ushered into the ambit of the complex U.S. Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). A full understanding of the associated tax implications on the part of these investors and their advisors is essential if they are to implement the correct structure to maximize their returns, avoid unnecessary withholding, and comply with applicable requirements. This book, the first practical guide to FIRPTA, clearly articulates the operation and transactional implications of FIRPTA and its interaction with various other regimes, sets forth real life situations, and points out potential traps, all in a readily graspable format. Among the tax issues and consequences that directly or indirectly affect foreign investors in U.S. real property interests, the author highlights the following and more: • the real estate investment trust (REIT); • withholding taxes that are jointly and severally liable for buyers and sellers; • treatment of rental, interest, and dividend income; • effect of the branch profits tax; • tax treaty benefits; • exemptions to FIRPTA; • special rules applicable to foreign governmental investors; • tax reporting standards and potential penalties for noncompliance; and • state and local tax issues relating to U.S. real estate investments. Providing a straightforward and accessible guide for navigating the tax issues that confront foreign investors in U.S. real estate, this resource will prove invaluable in identifying and formulating the correct strategies for investors and their advisors with respect to investments in the U.S. real estate market. It is sure to benefit all interested parties for years to come. Angela W. Yu, a tax partner of KPMG’s New York office, has extensive experience providing integrated tax advice to clients on cross-border transactions. She is a frequent speaker on U.S. tax issues, and has addressed many professional organizations.

From the colonial era to 1914, America was a debtor nation in international accounts--owing more to foreigners than foreigners owed to us. By 1914 it was the world's largest debtor nation. Mira Wilkins provides the first complete history of foreign investment in the United States during that period. The book shows why the United States was attractive to foreign investors and traces the changing role of foreign capital in the nation's development, covering both portfolio and direct investment. The immense new wave of foreign investment in the United States today, and our return to the status of a debtor nation--once again the world's largest debtor nation--makes this strong exposition far more than just historically interesting. Wilkins reviews foreign portfolio investments in government securities (federal, state, and local) and in corporate stocks and bonds, as well as foreign direct investments in land and real estate, manufacturing plants, and even such service-sector activities as accounting, insurance, banking, and mortgage lending. She finds that between 1776 and 1875, public-sector securities (principally federal and state securities) drew in the most long-term foreign investment, whereas from 1875 to 1914 the private sector was the main attraction. The construction of the American railroad system called on vast portfolio investments from abroad; there was also sizable direct investment in mining, cattle ranching, the oil industry, the chemical industry, flour production, and breweries, as well as the production of rayon, thread, and even submarines. In addition, there were foreign stakes in making automobile and electrical and nonelectrical machinery. America became the leading industrial country of the world at the very time when it was a debtor nation in world accounts.

Individual foreign investment in residential real estate by new middle-class and super-rich investors is re-emerging as a key issue in academic, policy and public debates around the world. At its most abstract, global real estate is increasingly thought of as a liquid asset class that is targeted by foreign individual investors who are seeking to diversify their investment portfolios. But foreign investors are also motivated by intergenerational familial security, transnational migration strategies and short-term educational plans, which are all closely entwined with global real estate investment. Government and local public responses to the latest manifestation of global real estate investment have taken different forms. These range from pro-foreign investment, primarily justified on geopolitical and macro-economic grounds, to anti-foreign investment for reasons such as mitigating public dissent and protecting the local housing market. Within this changing geopolitical context, this book offers a diverse range of case studies from Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, Australia and Korea. It will be of interest to academics, policymakers and university students who are interested in the globalisation of local real estate. The chapters in this book were originally published in the International Journal of Housing Policy.

CFIUS is comprised of 9 members, two ex officio members, and other members as appointed by the Pres. representing major departments and agencies within the Exec. Branch. While the group generally has operated in relative obscurity, the proposed acquisition of commercial operations at six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World in 2006 placed the group¿s operations under intense scrutiny. Contents of this report: Background; Establishment of CFIUS; The ¿Exon-Florio¿ Provision; Treasury Dept. Regulations; The ¿Byrd Amendment¿; The Amended CFIUS Process; Procedures; Factors for Consideration; Confidentiality Require.; Mitigation and Tracking; Congressional Oversight; CFIUS Since Exon-Florio; Impact of the Exon-Florio Process on CFIUS. Illus.