S-915 : Still Just a Bill

Real Estate Investment and Jobs Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of stock interests of foreign investors, to: (1) increase from 5% to 10% the stock ownership threshold in a real estate investment trust (REIT) for exempting such stock from treatment as a U.S. real property interest on disposition, (2) increase from from 10% to 15% the rate of withholding of tax on dispositions of U.S. real property interests, (3) require a corporation to notify the Department of the Treasury of its status as a U.S. real property holding corporation and to disclose such status on payee statements, (4) impose a penalty on a corporation for failing to make such disclosure, (5) require brokers who sell stock of a U.S. real property holding corporation to a foreign person to withhold 15% of the amount realized on the sale, and (6) deny dividends derived from regulated investment companies and REITs the tax deduction for the U.S.-sourced portion of such dividends received from a foreign-owned corporation.

The bill also increases from 30% to 35% the rate of the continuous levy on payments to Medicare providers and suppliers for unpaid taxes.