Insights

Experts Discuss Impact of Proposed Tax on Mezzanine Loans

January 23, 2020 – Media Mention
The Real Deal

Partner, Executive Committee Member and Chair of the Tax Department, Louis Tuchman, was quoted in The Real Deal article, Experts Take Issue with Proposed Tax on Mezzanine Loans, which discussed whether a proposed tax on mezzanine debt would raise the cost of financing across the board in New York, thereby making housing, among other things, more expensive. Tuchman asserted that the legislation would raise the cost of financing in all types of real estate transactions stating that "[a]t the end of the day, it's the ultimate user who will pay . . .  If you want to encourage housing, this is not the way to do it." Tuchman also noted that taxing mezzanine lending may seem arbitrary, "[t]here are those who argue, if you're planning to tax debt beyond mortgages, why limit it to real estate debt? Why not a tax on corporate debt? Why not tax all debt."