Organized Retail Crime (ORC)
The INFORM Consumers Act, ICSC-backed bipartisan legislation designed to curb the onslaught of counterfeit, defective and unsafe products available on third-party e-commerce sites, was enacted in late 2022 but became effective in June 2023. Ratification of the INFORM Act was a major victory for our industry and recognition of the growing challenge so many of our members face.
Another bill, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023 (S.140/H.R. 895) is supported by over 100 bipartisan cosponsors. The measure would toughen existing statutes, create a “National Organized Retail Crime Center” within DHS to provide needed coordination with federal law enforcement activities related to ORC, establish relationships with state and local law enforcement agencies, assist with investigations and replicate information sharing with private retail companies. ICSC is making progress towards passage of this or similar legislation, and recently testified at a Congressional hearing on the ORC crisis.
States have been more active on the ORC front, enacting 19 bills to broadly increase penalties, aggregate crimes across multiple jurisdictions, and provide additional funding for law enforcement. To date, 13 states have established an ORC task force to help coordinate investigations by law enforcement, prosecutors and businesses.
Taxes
As part of this year’s spending package, Congress may look to tax carried interest as ordinary income in order to “pay for,” or offset, other programs. This is a battle ICSC members have successfully fought for over 15 years.
ICSC also prevailed in recent efforts to limit LKEs, restrict the 20% pass-through deductions, tax carryover basis and increase the capital gains rate. We acknowledge that for the foreseeable future, our industry must be ever- vigilant in pushing back against proposed changes to the tax treatment of real estate assets.
Adaptive Reuse
Lawmakers in eleven states introduced bills to provide economic incentives for redevelopment of underutilized or distressed properties (AL, CT, ID, LA, ME, MA, MT, NJ, SC, TN, WI).
Incentives for Energy Efficiency Upgrades
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided nearly $386 B in tax credits across various industries including CRE. 40 states provide additional financial incentives thought loans or tax credits and 6 states offer tax credits that mirror the intent of the federal IRA deduction.
For more information, contact gpp@icsc.com.