ATLANTA, Nov. 17, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Morris, Manning & Martin attorneys Cassady Brewer and Stacey Turner will lead a December teleconference for attorneys and accountants interested in learning about the potential tax breaks for brownfield developments.
"Some of the nation's most successful real estate developments are built on redeveloped brownfields, but most people are unaware of significant tax advantages of developing areas impacted by prior industrial use," says Brewer, a Partner in the firm's Tax and Real Estate Capital Markets groups.
Tax-exempt entities often avoid investing in developing and selling lots, townhomes and condominiums to avoid incurring "unrelated business taxable income" (UBTI), because of its 35% federal tax rate, as well as complicated accounting and filing requirements. But in 2004, Congress enacted a narrow exemption for certain tax-exempt entities investing in brownfields.
"While this presents a huge, but often ignored, tax incentive to encourage investment in brownfields, the new law can be very complicated," Brewer says. "It presents both great opportunities and serious pitfalls."
Key questions to be discussed in the teleconference include:
-- Which tax-exempt entities -- and which real estate development
partners -- are eligible for the tax exemption
-- Requirements for brownfield properties to qualify for the exemption
-- Key provisions that should be built into partnership and LLC
agreements between tax-exempt entities and development partners
The teleconference will conclude with a question and answer session from participants.
The live interactive telephone conference will be held Wednesday, December 6 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. It is sponsored by the Legal Publishing Group of Strafford Publications. Strafford is among the nation's leading publishers of specialized information services covering the latest legal, regulatory, tax, auditing and corporate security developments.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and Continuing Legal Education Credit (CLE) is available. For more information, or to register for the teleconference, visit http://www.straffordpub.com/products/brownfield.
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, (www.mmmlaw.com) enjoys national prominence for its corporate finance, securities, litigation, technology, real estate and real estate capital markets, environmental, insurance and healthcare practices. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Princeton.