Environmental – Opportunity Zones – Insights From the Land of OZ

March 11, 2020 by Brad A. Molotsky

From the Land of OZ – Timing for Filing Forms 8996 and 8997 and the 180 day investment period – Spring Forward!

Good morning/afternoon friends. As we draw close to March 15th, a magic day for partnerships and S corps. for required tax filings, if you have invested in a QOF or a QOZB, I wanted to politely reach out and remind you all of something your accountant is likely to have already covered but, just in case:

1. Individuals – have 180 days from their gain event to put as much or as little capital gains as they want into a QOF. The individual needs to file a Form 8997 for his/her individual OZ investments. This form is available on line at www.irs.gov and is due with your individual return in April.

2. Partners in Partnerships; Shareholders in S Corps. – as you likely know, the final regulations issued in December 2019 allow partners and shareholders to invest capital gains 180 days from when the return for the relevant entity is due. This due date, WITHOUT EXTENSION, is March 15th. 180 days from March 15th takes one to September 11th. Thus, if you are a shareholder in an S corp or a partner in a partnership that had 2019 gain that is distributed to you in your individual capacity, you have until September 11, 2020 (this year) to place your gain into an QOF and still qualify. That is for you in your individual capacity friends.

The entity that is the QOF (the qualified Opportunity Zone Fund) is required to file form 8996 with its tax return to tell the IRS it wants to be treated as a QOF. If the QOF files an extension, this form would be due with the extension. Note, the September date for the individual is NOT extended regarding the timing for their investments into a QOF and the individual is required to make a decisions 180 days from when the return was originally due (i.e., March 15th).

3. QOZBs – as discussed, if relevant to you, QOZBs do NOT need to file any forms with the IRS. That said, they still need to meet the 70% test, the 50% test and 5% tests in order for the QOF that has invested in them to qualify; so their paperwork is very very relevant, they just don’t need to file anything with the IRS. Please note that the QOZB’s information will still be needed for the QOF to file its form 8996 as there are specific questions about the QOZB contained in the QOF’s filing paperwork.

I know, clear as mud! Just note, I did not make up the rules just trying to keep friends and clients from running afoul of them. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out via email. I am traveling with my family (yes, I know, wash my hands) the rest of this week through Monday but will have access to email, just please be patient as out with my family. Best regards.

Over and out from the Land of OZ. -Brad

January 23, 2020 by Brad A. Molotsky

Top 10 LEED States in the US – Colorado on Top – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced its list of Top 10 States for LEED green building. Congrats to Colorado who took the top spot on the list, which ranks states based on the number of LEED certified square feet per person. Yes slightly odd way to measure things but they are the ones counting so onward we roll.

LEED, as you likely know, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world with more than 100,000 projects engaged.

This year’s top states are home to more than 105 million people, including more than 80,000 LEED green building professionals with the credentials and skills needed to support the sustainable transformation of buildings.
LEED-certified projects support personal health and well-being, as well as use less energy and water, reduce carbon emissions and have been proven to save money for families, businesses and taxpayers.

Per USGBC, the Top 10 list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects certified throughout 2019.

Colorado certified 102 green building projects representing 4.76 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident. The state has made the Top 10 list each year but jumped to the top spot after ranking sixth in 2018.

Minnesota and Oregon reemerged as Top 10 states after missing the list last year, coming in at number eight and nine respectively. The full rankings are as follows:

2019 Top 10 States for LEED
Rank State, Certified Gross Square Footage (GSF), GSF Per Capita, Number of Projects Certified, and LEED Professionals

1 CO     23,962,344      4.76      102         6,339
2 IL       49,363,822       3.85     121          8,662
3 NY     72,778,916       3.76     193     12,576
4 MA    24,505,512       3.74     101          6,827
5 HI        4,083,713       3.00      121        1,145
6 MD    15,234,554       2.64       96         4,998
7 VA     19,981,112        2.50      98         6,526
8 MN    12,708,706       2.40        25         3,346
9 OR       8,825,432       2.30        33         2,908
10 CA   80,669,066      2.17      400      26,794
** DC   31,810,018   52.86      143        2,597

**Washington, D.C. is not ranked as it is a federal district, not a state

USGBC calculates the list using per capita figures to allow for a fair comparison of the level of green building taking place among states with significant differences in population and number of overall buildings.

Despite Washington, D.C. not appearing in the official Top 10 list because of its status as a federal territory, it consistently leads the nation and in 2019 certified 52.86 square feet of space per resident across 143 green building projects. The nation’s capital has a strong legacy of sustainability leadership and has expanded its use of LEED from buildings to cities and communities to support its goals.

In 2017, it became the first LEED-certified city and in 2019 certified the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District LEED Platinum, the first business improvement district in the world to certify.

Across the U.S. there are more than 165,000 LEED green building professionals.

As USGBC continues to advance green buildings, cities and communities through the adoption of LEED and the latest version of the rating system, LEED v4.1, the organization is also considering a future that is focused on a more regenerative approach.

In November 2019 at the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, USGBC introduced “LEED Positive” – a roadmap that will lay the foundation for a future of LEED that transitions away from strategies that only reduce harm and instead focus on those that help repair and restore. With a continued focus on performance, USGBC is attempting to lay the groundwork to ensure sustainable design, construction and operations of buildings, cities and communities remains focused on better buildings that contribute to better lives.

For more on LEED and sustainability, do not hesitate to email or call and we would be happy to discuss this and other ESG, CSR and sustainability topics. Best regards. -Brad

October 15, 2019January 6, 2020 by Brad A. Molotsky

Climate Change viewed as a Major Problem in NJ according to a recent Stockton University poll

According to a Stockton University poll released earlier this week, 2/3 of New Jersey residents believe climate change is a crisis and almost 75% believe it is affecting New Jersey.

Per Stockton’s press release, “the results show climate change is a concern to people all over New Jersey and not just those who live along the Jersey shore,” said John Froonjian, interim director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton, who presented an overview of the results at Coast Day at Stockton Atlantic City on Oct. 13.

As reported in Bisnow, among those who believe climate change is currently affecting NJ, more than 75% cited rising sea level, earth warming, harming or changing the ocean, extreme weather, and worsening pollution as major problems they are concerned about.

Beach erosion was cited by 70% as a major problem, while harm to farming was mentioned by 68%, flooding by 66%, and health effects by 57%.

More than half of respondents (56%) believe government could or should do more, and 31% say the government response is totally inadequate.

Per the poll, views did vary along party lines. Democrats (92%) and independents (64%) were more likely to see climate change as a crisis or major problem than Republicans (35%). Women (72%) were also more likely to view it as a crisis or major problem than men (62%).

The results also showed while young people are the most concerned about the issue, concern cuts across age, racial, ethnic, economic, gender and geographic lines. Almost 80% of respondents ages 18-29 see climate changes as a crisis or a major problem. That percentage drops to under 70% for those over 65.

We will continue to monitor trends and thinking in ESG and climate change and report back. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at bamolotsky@duanemorris.com and I will direct your question accordingly.

-Brad A. Molotsky, Esq., LEED AP – O+M

January 10, 2019January 3, 2020 by Brad A. Molotsky

ESG – Relevant in this day and age or just a fad?

I had the pleasure of attending the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) – Philadelphia Chapter meeting yesterday morning at the Union League in Philadelphia. Very good attendance to hear Dave Stangis (Campbell’s Soup), Jamie Rantanen (US Trust) and Jennifer Wong (Glenmede) discuss the topic of ESG (“Environmental, Social and Governance”) as it relates to public company and private company investment.

ESG provides companies and investors with a systematic means to identify risk within the lens of environmental issues, social issues and governance issues. Different, but related to, Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) which is the means of improving social outcomes within an organization and how and organization measures its ESG outcomes.

Super conversation and some interesting questions from the audience during the presentation that touched on aligning values with investment outcomes (i.e., impact investing), risk mitigation through focus on ESG, the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs), the increase of shareholder activism in the investment space, including an increased focus on ESG issues, the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (or SASB) and their focus on measurable sustainability metrics, and the difference between philanthropy, impact investing, ESG investing and standard market investing.

To the question about ESG and is it relevant from the audience member focused on mutual fund investing – the panel and this author firmly believe yes, ESG is relevant, becoming more relevant and an increasing amount of investors are seeking to invest in companies that align their ROI with ESG. No, not everyone, of course, but more and more as time goes on. I for one believe ESG will continue to become more relevant as a lens within which to view investing, efficiency, and alignment of investor interests with companies that more closely match their values.

I look forward to engaging in the conversation as the year progresses and to including some of my friends and colleagues in a monthly chat on ESG. Come join us if of interest.

Check out RBS’s chart at http://go.pardot.com/l/441592/2018-09-18/jjjrt8 for some interesting data

See also, Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock’s statement on ESG – https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/blk-esg-investment-statement-web.pdf

#Sustainability #ESG #SRI #impactinvesting #governance #SASB #environmental, social, governanceBrad