Roger Epstein Testimony, REIT Taxation



Roger Epstein, a co-founder of Asia-Pacific Group and respected authority on U.S. tax issues, testifies before a committee of the Hawaii State Senate on February 6, 2019.

The issue is the collection of tax by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in Hawaii, on behalf of out-of-state shareholders. Currently, these shareholders are expected to pay their own Hawaii State income tax, which results in significant under-payments. Roger’s recommendation, supported by many others, is that REITs should required to withhold these taxes, by deducting the funds from the income paid to their shareholders.

See SB3067 and Testimony Transcript. (PDF download)