Industry Defense Fund

BOMA International's member-driven Industry Defense Fund is instrumental in giving a voice to the commercial real estate industry helping achieve critical advocacy successes.  Its purpose is to ensure that adequate funds are available at the federal, state and local levels for wide-ranging advocacy issues that may impact BOMA members.  The IDF is administered by an oversight committee, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Industry Defense Fund (IDF) video provides an overview of this important, member-driven program. It includes background on the IDF process and history, and it concludes with testimonials from some of our BOMA local associations. This video is a particularly good resource for sharing with colleagues and showing at meetings to illustrate the value of the BOMA network.

 

IDF Spotlight 

CHICAGO TRANSFER TAX REFERENDUM

BOMA/Chicago delivered a stunning victory for the commercial real estate industry this year, as a voter referendum on a new real estate transfer tax went down in defeat at the ballot box. The "No" vote won 52%-48%, delivering an upset victory against the proposed tax and a momentous win for BOMA. The referendum, known as "Bring Chicago Home," proposed to significantly raise transfer taxes on properties that sell for more than $1 million, while lowering the rate on properties that sell for less, with the added revenue used to fund homelessness programs. BOMA/Chicago led the opposition effort, expressing concerns on the potential effects on the CRE market and the city, while offering to participate in a more comprehensive effort to address homelessness. With support from the BOMA International Industry Defense Fund, BOMA/Chicago and a coalition of organizations successfully challenged the referendum in court, only to be overturned at the last minute by the state supreme court. But the messaging clearly resonated with the voters, and this result represents a significant reversal in the momentum toward transfer taxes nationwide. 

HOW TO APPLY

CONTACT

Ken Rosenfeld
Director of State and Local Affairs
krosenfeld@boma.org