new federal legislation targets foreign investment in american infrastructure

A bill designed to allow for more foreign investment in U.S. infrastructure improvement projects is now being reviewed on Capitol Hill.

The Invest in America Act has been introduced by Connecticut Representative John Larson and Texas Representative Kenny Marchant. It calls for repealing the 1980s-era Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act.

That earlier legislation imposed heavy capital gains taxes on any global investments in U.S. property.

According to Larson and Marchant, what is known as the FIRPTA bill had the unintended consequence of discouraging state and local government from partnering with global investors on any number of infrastructure projects, including the rebuilding and upgrading of aging buildings, bridges, tunnels, airports, and roads.
The new legislation has won the support of a number of industry groups, including the American Institute of Architects, which argues that the bill would “put the U.S. on equal footing in the competition for investment dollars.”

In a statement, Robert Ivy, the chief executive officer of the AIA, said the Invest in America Act will “result in meaningful jobs not only for architects but other professions in design and construction as well as manufacturing and service industries.”

The authors of the legislation estimate that, if passed, the bill could easily attract as much as $125 billion in global investment.

Said Marchant in a statement: the legislation will “remove barriers in our tax code that discourage investments in real estate. By providing parity to real estate assets under the law, foreign investors will be able to create more opportunities and more prosperity for American families.”

By Garry Boulard

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