DENVER—Colorado lawmakers say Wal-Mart and other large corporations are evading taxes on real estate profits.
They unveiled a bill Tuesday that would require companies to declare questionable transactions on their corporate tax returns.
A new federal tax law allows small investors to pool their resources to participate in real estate markets that otherwise would require large amounts of capital, providing tax breaks. Lawmakers say Wal-Mart is evading taxes by owning a majority of the investment trust.
Daphne Moore, corporate communications director for Wal-Mart, said they are lawful arrangements and they have been known to state departments of revenue for many years.
“While there is a tax benefit, we also use them for management efficiency and simplified capital administration. It makes sense to have properties administered by a separate professional real estate office, rather than by individual store managers who have many other issues to contend with. Anything Wal-Mart can do to lawfully reduce its costs enables the company to pass those savings on to customers in the form of lower prices.”
