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Transactional Real Estate: Eligibility for Leasehold Tax Exemption Extended to Foreign Governments
August 11, 2021
Real estate partner Salvatore Gogliormella and counsel Barry Langman’s transactional real estate column, “Eligibility for Leasehold Tax Exemption Extended to Foreign Governments,” appeared in the August 11 issue of the New York Law Journal. The authors discuss how, thanks to a 2009 letter ruling by the New York City Department of Finance (DOF), nonprofits in New York have been able to obtain real estate tax exemptions for properties leased for terms exceeding 30 years via the use of leasehold condominium structures. Using the same reasoning as in the 2009 letter ruling, a 2020 DOF letter ruling recognized leasehold condominium ownership as a means for a foreign government to obtain a real estate tax exemption, providing new opportunities for diplomatic and consular offices in New York City to reduce operating costs and achieve significant savings—and for landlords to attract those users for their properties. Both letter rulings were the result of applications prepared by Paul, Weiss on behalf of its clients. Real estate partner Peter Fisch and summer associate Sophie Lee assisted in the preparation of this article.
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