The One Big Beautiful Bill is now signed into law, prompting questions about tax risks, retaliatory measures, and impacts on U.S. real estate. So what does it all mean for cross-border investors in property markets?
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sat down with DLA Piper tax partner Shiukay Hung to discuss the impact of the bill. “The Big Beautiful Bill is a very interesting piece of legislation,” says Hung, “Perhaps it's one of the few tax legislations in recent memory that came with a lot of tax drama.”
The bill, which aimed to maintain tax cuts, proposed a 50% retaliatory tax on foreign investors from countries with unfair tax practices, and could have significantly affected investment returns. Despite initial concerns, the retaliatory tax provision, Section 899, was dropped before passing.
Now that the bill is law, how should cross-border investors weigh domestic tax exemptions against international treaties, and what role does the bond market play in shaping policy? It’s all in the latest episode of the AFIRE podcast.
LINKS
Register for the 2025 AFIRE Annual Member Meeting Sept. 9-10 in NYC https://www.afire.org/events/amm25/
Read Shiukay’s paper on the Big Beautiful Bill
https://www.dlapiper.com/en-ca/insights/publications/2025/06/litigation-funding-tax-and-retaliatory-tax
Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviews
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrtO-j6M9aS8Hr7DHeg562A8-HQrxi8o
Read the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18
https://www.afire.org/summit/
Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202515cast/
KEY MOMENTS
00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro
01:43 Welcome Shiukay Hung, Partner & Co-Chair, DLA Piper
01:51 Cross-border investor concerns
03:55 How big was the retaliatory tax threat?
06:26 What does the bill mean now?
08:31 Section 899 is gone, but the risk remains
11:45 What should investors be paying attention to?
13:45 Can the bond market keep us in check?
16:43 Who really influenced policy?
19:43 What investors are missing?
22:16 Final remarks
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The One Big Beautiful Bill is now signed into law, prompting questions about tax risks, retaliatory measures, and impacts on U.S. real estate. So what does it all mean for cross-border investors in property markets?
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sat down with DLA Piper tax partner Shiukay Hung to discuss the impact of the bill. “The Big Beautiful Bill is a very interesting piece of legislation,” says Hung, “Perhaps it's one of the few tax legislations in recent memory that came with a lot of tax drama.”
The bill, which aimed to maintain tax cuts, proposed a 50% retaliatory tax on foreign investors from countries with unfair tax practices, and could have significantly affected investment returns. Despite initial concerns, the retaliatory tax provision, Section 899, was dropped before passing.
Now that the bill is law, how should cross-border investors weigh domestic tax exemptions against international treaties, and what role does the bond market play in shaping policy? It’s all in the latest episode of the AFIRE podcast.
LINKS
Register for the 2025 AFIRE Annual Member Meeting Sept. 9-10 in NYC https://www.afire.org/events/amm25/
Read Shiukay’s paper on the Big Beautiful Bill
https://www.dlapiper.com/en-ca/insights/publications/2025/06/litigation-funding-tax-and-retaliatory-tax
Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviews
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrtO-j6M9aS8Hr7DHeg562A8-HQrxi8o
Read the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18
https://www.afire.org/summit/
Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202515cast/
KEY MOMENTS
00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro
01:43 Welcome Shiukay Hung, Partner & Co-Chair, DLA Piper
01:51 Cross-border investor concerns
03:55 How big was the retaliatory tax threat?
06:26 What does the bill mean now?
08:31 Section 899 is gone, but the risk remains
11:45 What should investors be paying attention to?
13:45 Can the bond market keep us in check?
16:43 Who really influenced policy?
19:43 What investors are missing?
22:16 Final remarks
Despite geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, the US economy remains strong, says our latest guest on the AFIRE podcast: Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi, the recipient of the Consensus Economics 2024 Forecast Accuracy Award. “So far, the data shows yellow flares everywhere,” Zandi observes. “But no red flares yet.”
In conversation with AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson, Zandi shares his views on the way trade tensions will affect the broader economy, as well as US commercial real estate specifically. The pair also discuss a forthcoming Moody’s study on the housing shortage, hotspots in the US CRE market and how ESG and DEI discussions are evolving under the new administration. The conversation concludes with Zandi worrying that the dissolution of Fed independence could set the stage for much higher inflation.
“I do think the economy is resilient,” Zandi says. “We should be able to navigate through and, you know, we could be in a very different place a year or two down the road.”
Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202511cast/
The AFIRE Podcast
The One Big Beautiful Bill is now signed into law, prompting questions about tax risks, retaliatory measures, and impacts on U.S. real estate. So what does it all mean for cross-border investors in property markets?
AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson sat down with DLA Piper tax partner Shiukay Hung to discuss the impact of the bill. “The Big Beautiful Bill is a very interesting piece of legislation,” says Hung, “Perhaps it's one of the few tax legislations in recent memory that came with a lot of tax drama.”
The bill, which aimed to maintain tax cuts, proposed a 50% retaliatory tax on foreign investors from countries with unfair tax practices, and could have significantly affected investment returns. Despite initial concerns, the retaliatory tax provision, Section 899, was dropped before passing.
Now that the bill is law, how should cross-border investors weigh domestic tax exemptions against international treaties, and what role does the bond market play in shaping policy? It’s all in the latest episode of the AFIRE podcast.
LINKS
Register for the 2025 AFIRE Annual Member Meeting Sept. 9-10 in NYC https://www.afire.org/events/amm25/
Read Shiukay’s paper on the Big Beautiful Bill
https://www.dlapiper.com/en-ca/insights/publications/2025/06/litigation-funding-tax-and-retaliatory-tax
Watch the AFIRE POV series of investor interviews
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrtO-j6M9aS8Hr7DHeg562A8-HQrxi8o
Read the latest articles from Summit Journal Issue #18
https://www.afire.org/summit/
Access the episode webpage featuring links to audio-only platforms here:
https://www.afire.org/podcast/202515cast/
KEY MOMENTS
00:00 AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson intro
01:43 Welcome Shiukay Hung, Partner & Co-Chair, DLA Piper
01:51 Cross-border investor concerns
03:55 How big was the retaliatory tax threat?
06:26 What does the bill mean now?
08:31 Section 899 is gone, but the risk remains
11:45 What should investors be paying attention to?
13:45 Can the bond market keep us in check?
16:43 Who really influenced policy?
19:43 What investors are missing?
22:16 Final remarks
