Is the fear of foreign investors buying up all of America’s property finally fading away?

Perhaps, according to this article in The Wall Street Journal.

According to author Eliot Brown, a move from Congress may open up commercial real estate to foreign investors thanks to relaxing some old legislation.

Here are the highlights:

“The law, known as the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, subjects foreign investors to income tax when they sell U.S. property. It was initially passed in 1980, a time when there were fears that foreign investors including the Japanese might buy up large swaths of the country and its farmland.”

And then the conclusion:

“But the broader tax and spending legislation contained other measures affecting real estate that offset the cost, making the job easier, said Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), an architect of the changes. The most prominent was a provision that restricts the ability of companies to spin off their property holdings into real estate investment trusts, which don’t pay income tax. That provision is estimated to raise $1.9 billion over 10 years.”